Okeen Blanford, co-founder of party promoters BONZ Entertainment, is pleased with the overwhelming support of Lit: Same Flame held at the National Stadium in St Andrew on Saturday.

“I am very pleased. To be honest, one of the concerns we had with our date was that it was two weeks after the Easter holidays/Ochi weekend, so we thought people might have needed more time to recuperate. However, this did not stop our patrons from showing up and, as such, having over 1,700 patrons present. It was quite pleasing to see ,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Patrons rolled out in droves to the party, which promised to be eventful from the onset. DJs Kevi The Kinetic, A Team and Travis, and Brush1 Chromatic provided the night’s entertainment from every single genre, even gospel. The cherry on top was a performance by fast-rising dancehall artiste Marksman, who had the crowd cheering with hits such as Top Coote, Visa, and Verified Choppa 2. Up-and-coming acts Witty, Q-One, and Letta Boss also delivered cameo sets.

There was not a static moment throughout the seven-hour duration of the event as patrons were seen gyrating and having a whale of a time.

Meanwhile, Blanford said the team, which also comprises Akeem Hines, Odean Bernard, and Zayne Hull, made some critical changes to the party series for this staging.

“This was our first time having a guest artiste performing at Lit. We also had to change to a venue with a greater capacity, which I think the patrons really enjoyed. This staging was highly anticipated since it’s our first flagship event since the pandemic. Yes, we had a couple small series of events inside the club during the lockdown, but it can’t be compared to outside where we can literally use our Lion Pride lighters and Baygons to get the flames going,” the promoter said, noting that it only took them three-and-half weeks to plan and execute.

All the co-founders are in their mid-20s. Blanford said that when they first started the series in February 2019, it was a bit challenging to pull things off. However, they evolved.

“It used to be challenging, but it’s really easy now. Everyone understands their roles, what needs to get done and how it’s supposed to be done. Our sponsors, Lion Pride, 876 Water, and Redbull, also helped in making things a bit easier. What I would say is a challenge though is making ‘links’ in Kingston since we are all from the countryside, but we’re getting there,” he explained.

Nonetheless, Blanford is proud of the demography they are able to appeal to.

“We attract young people, old people, entrepreneurs, politicians, college students, people from the streets…you name. Lit takes care of everyone,” he said.

At the same time, some patrons said the party exceeded their expectations.

“This is my first time attending and I’m so pleased with the music. It’s just been hits after hits and the energy is right. I’m really proud of the young men,” accountant Marie Sommerville told the Observer.

Entrepreneur Michael Jones said it was his first event since the reopening of the entertainment industry.

“I definitely did not make a mistake when I decided to attend. I saw the flyer going around on social media and I said, ‘Why not?’ It’s a great vibe,” he said.