Spring is at our doorstep and the weather should make for more events in our area.  Recent events such as ‘Unite-A-Fest’ held in Broward and ‘Seasons’ in Orlando featured some talented soca acts. Unite-A-Fest featured soca artistes such as the ever-popular Iwer George and while ‘Seasons’ brought other top soca acts.

While I enjoy the warmer weather here in the Broward/Miami area, and would have enjoyed seeing Iwer mash up Unite-A-Fest with his big tune for the season, “We Reach,” I went to see Edwin Yearwood and Dawg E. Slaughter perform in Orlando over the weekend. ‘Seasons’ was the first of its kind for the promoters.  The event was decent though a few issues could be worked on for their next event.  Edwin sang a nice medley of his hits to include, “Pump Me Up,” “Sweatin,” “Road Jam,” “This Feeling,” “No Behavior,” “Wet Me,” “Weekend,” “Sugar Cane,” “Crank It,” “Sak Pase,” and “Head Gone.”  I’m sure I missed few, but every one, were crowd pleasers.  Edwin has such a long list of songs, it’s a shame he doesn’t have two hours to perform for any given show.  The only problem I had with his performance outside of the time frame, were the persons on the stage carrying on.  I counted at least twenty different people on the stage at some point in time, dancing and being rather disrespectful to not only the artiste, but the crowd as well.  People pay to see the musicians, not the DJ’s winin’ on women.  While it may not seem like such a big issue, it really is.  It goes to show the respect that is given to our soca artistes versus any other genre of music.

“THE NO Curse Tour 2006!” Tonya E. A.K.A. Miss Right Now Inc. has launched a new movement to change the minds of every youth who listens to Hip Hop Music. This company is currently in production and promoting their project titled, "The No Curse Tour 2006!" The first stop of this tour will be in New York City, followed by other states in the early fall 2006 season. This tour will include something for every one of all ages. The company is currently scouting for talent to participate such as rappers of all genres, actors, actresses, spoken word artists, b-boys, b-girls, dj's, graffiti artists, and more. Miss Right Now Inc. (www.missrightnowinc.com) located in Westchester, New York is an entertainment company, striving to bring back the essence of artist development in all areas of the entertainment field. Could this tour work with dancehall??

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It might have been frigid outside but inside the Hardrock Casino Ballroom, Jerry “Iceman” Butler and Jamaica’s golden voice, Sanchez warmed the hearts of fans with romantic interludes. Sunday, March 26 was a splendid evening when it opened with Host, ZOII presenting the hottest fashions by New York’s designer Michael Gilling. Fans started to whet their appetites when the opening act, South Florida’s very own, Michael Russell, with a similar voice as George Nooks, had them snapping their fingers to his latest love tunes. Backed by the Millennium Band, songstress Fiona joined Michael on stage offering soothing blends to open a night of pure “nostalgia”.

South Florida theatre goers will be in for a treat again as the exciting and hilarious character ‘Chu Chu’ returns in the smash hit play “More Passa Passa”.

The original Passa Passa was certainly a phenomenon, one of the biggest Jamaican hit plays and has had over 200 performances and enjoyed by aljost 250,000 patrons in Jamaica, USA, Canada and the Caribbean. The ‘Chu Chu’ character (played by Cleve Warren) has become one of the jost popular and the sale of the Passa Passa videos has boosted him to aljost cult image status.

Jahfari Promotions has again shown everyone how to put on a concert. The latest was the Kymani Marley and Barrington Levy showcase at Jannus Landing, Downtown St. Petersburg in central Florida last Saturday March 18.

A successful show must score above average with respect to five main elements: effective promotion, selecting the right artiste(s) at the right time, show start and flow, security and an experienced host.

Saturday evening at 7:14, Richie Rich, International MC and Host and who is also a radio personality on internet radio Vibezradio.com was in full control and welcomed the patrons to another great event and then introduced the Shaka Band out of Tampa Bay, the show openers. The patrons loved every note of their performance. All was set for a great show including good weather.

It was as if every act took the show to another level as Jafari Reggae Band alongside their vocalists gave a high-energy performance and showing all the reasons they are considered the number one reggae band in Central Florida. They also backed Tinga Stewart who gave a star studded thirty minutes of his famous lovers rock hits and Jamaican festival past winning song entries he is also known for. Tinga showed he is not only a long and lasting vocalist, but a real show man.