Damian Marley rocks National Stadium

By Bhisham mohamed

Jamaican reggae superstar Damian “Junior Gong” Marley lived up to all the pre-show hype to deliver a stirring performance at Saturday night’s Food, Arts and Musical Festival held at the Guyana National Stadium.

His performance was the highlight of the first day of the inaugural festivities, hosted by the Tourism Ministry. The evening saw the energetic Jamaican creating heat waves with his phenomenal vocals, while showing off his body-length dreadlocks in a blue denim outfit.

After one of Marley’s band members introduced him, upon hearing his voice before he was seen, his fans went berserk.

Appearing on stage in the midst of smoke and dazzling ‘ice’, gold and green lights just about midnight last Saturday, Marley, accompanied by his entire band and backup singers, took the stadium by storm.

As he appeared, he wished Guyanese a happy 46th independence anniversary and went straight into his first set. He dished out some of his popular tunes such as “Affairs Of The Heart”, “As We Enter”, “Strong Will Continue”, “Land of the Promise”, and “Road to Zion”.

As the night progresses he sang some of his father’s tunes such as “This Is Love”, “Three Little Birds”, and “Exodus”. There was not a single person sitting when he performed these hits. It was craziness in a nice way.

During his performance, he was accompanied by a rising Jamaican reggae artiste who entertained the audience with his cool moves. He also invited another Jamaican artiste, Wayne Marshall who dished out his signature tune, “Heart” and also performed “Good Love”. The ladies went wild.

After 01: 00h, Junior Gong thanked his fans and went off, but this was just a bluff, he returned to the stage to loud roars and screams of appreciation from his thousands of fans.

The Zion flags were all fluttering as he reappeared on stage. He sang his popular “Jamrock” tune that had the crowd in hysterics. This was the last song of the evening which pulled the curtains down on the first night of FAM.

Meanwhile, during the night’s proceedings, Guyanese artistes such as Alabama, First Born, and Mystic also performed.

They all lamented that not much emphasis is being placed on musical talent in Guyana, a situation that is stifling the music industry. The young and dynamic Mystic, who hails from Sophia, gave an outstanding performance, which was loved by the audience.

Alabama, who has made a name for himself but hardly performs, sang several of his songs, including “Dem Don’t Care”. First Born also performed with energy and charm on Saturday evening, with “How Are We Going To Survive”, “Wakeup Call”, and “Repatriation Time” among others.