Blue Mountain Music Fest on track
PREPARATIONS for this weekend’s staging of the inaugural Blue Mountain Music Festival are coming together.
Set for the Holywell Recreational Park in the cool Blue Mountains, the two-day event is the brainchild of Rushaun ‘Bay C’ Clarke of the dancehall quartet TOK, who enlisted the assistance of his bandmate Craigy ‘Craigy T’ Thompson to execute the festival.
According to Thompson, all is on track for the event this Saturday and Sunday.
“Things are going good for this weekend. As with any event, the closer it gets to the deadline is the more hectic activities become, but we are prepared to deal with that,” he told the Jamaica Observer.
Thompson said one of the highlights of the festival will be a tribute to Bunny Rugs — the late lead singer of the band Third World.
“We had Third World down to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. This was even before the passing of Rugs. Since then, the members of that group have decided to dedicate their performance to the memory their former lead singer,” he said.
“TOK have also done a cover of Now That We Found Love, a song made popular by Third World, and we will be performing this along with them on Saturday night. We have never performed this song before, and to do it with Third World is something we are definitely looking forward to,” Thompson said.
Written by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, Now That We Found Love, was originally recorded by The O’Jays on their 1973 album Ship Ahoy.
As first-time organisers, Thompson said he now has a new-found respect for event promoters.
“In organising the Blue Mountain Music Festival, I now realise it’s a whole heap a work involving politicking and networking. I lift off my hat to promoters. In some cases, it’s really a magic trick of getting what you want out of the much smaller budget. But thankfully, we have sponsors who see the vision and share the belief for the festival. Without sponsors, it really could not happen,” said Thompson.
The Blue Mountain Music Festival line-up includes No-Maddz, Bugle, Denyque, Tanya Stephens, Chronixx, Raging Fyah, Jah9 and Jesse Royal.
In addition to the entertainment, patrons can take in family-oriented activities including camping, hiking, stargazing, facepainting and yoga.
TOK is known in dancehall circles for hits including
Footprints, Gal You Ah Lead and Chi Chi Man.