AS the Yuletide countdown begins, reggae singer Althea Hewitt is already in high spirits as she looks forward to the virtual staging of a pre-recorded Christmas concert, slated for premiere at 3:00 pm on November 27 on her YouTube channel.

The event, dubbed Althea Hewitt’s Merry Christmas Special, will be recorded on November 20. Discussions are also under way for it to be rebroadcast on local television stations and various social media pages.

“It’s almost the season to be jolly! We want to start the celebrations early by spreading our love and having this concert is our way as musicians to do so. Our aim is to smooth the heart, souls and the minds with the sound of our melodies voices. For those who continue to go through the depression caused by the COVID-19 virus, I hope my concert will help to assist them by improving their mental health and boost their self-esteem and confidence,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

The online event will boast a stellar line-up of acts, including reggae singer Boris Gardiner, runner-up in the 2006 season of Digicel Rising Star Nickiesha Barnes, Dr Kathy Brown, Andrew “C’Nova” Cassanova, Dawn Martin and Hewitt, the show’s conceptualiser.

The backing band will be D’KRU comprising Junior “Bird” Bailey (drums), Andrew Edwards (bass), Earl Fitzsimmons and Dr Kathy Brown (keyboards), and Denver Downer (guitar) .

Hewitt, former lead singer of female group Fourth Street Sisters and a finalist in this year’s Jamaica Festival Song Competition, said that Jamaica remains a gold mine of rich musical talent waiting to be unearthed.

“I believe you have a lot of hidden treasures in our country so I decided to showcase them on my show. Take for instance, Andrew Cassanova I knew from inception that I wanted him to be part of the project seeing that he has one of those voices that are out of this world. Nickiesha Barnes is also a hidden treasure. She is in fact a diamond and I want to see her like a Romain Virgo or a Christopher Martin shine and succeed,” she said.

According to Hewitt, the concert will provide an escape to assist in maintaining mental and emotional stability.

“It’s our responsibility as an musicians to provide an escape and a means of distraction for the man who is depressed about his work or tired of his boss. We hope the concert will make our audience feel relaxed by providing them with some good music. I believe this is my way of giving back to the community and saying to everyone remain positive. I’m sure there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The light might be at the end of 2021. Who knows?” she added.