For the first time since Reggae Sumfest’s International Night was scrapped, the festival sought to rekindle the tradition by inviting American singer-songwriter Babyface.
For the Catherine Hall audience, the Whip Appeal singer’s 75-minute performance was just what the doctor prescribed, but for fans watching in the media and online, her international popularity was short-lived.
Organizers informed media that reporters would not be allowed in the press pit during Babyface’s performance.
The YouTube stream was also cut off before he began playing.
Though the singer was invisible to anyone except those in the immediate vicinity, the constant screams of the crowd were an integral part of his performance, and you could hear the crowd singing along with consistent intensity to every single song from nearly the beginning to the end.
Commenting on the matter, Cordell Scatter-Barrell of Downsound Entertainment said, “Many long-standing artists, unaffected by social media and streaming, generate and grow their income organically by performing at shows based on relevance. [want] The streaming content you see on the internet, especially the way the programming is done, stimulates the masses too much. So they want to keep it for a live audience, so they limit people holding up their phones, [the] Don’t stream their sets, because if you see me do this set today, you’re not going to want to see it tomorrow because I’m not up to date. I have a catalog that I live off of. I can’t give it away for free and I can’t blame him for that. That’s the way he is.”
Though unplanned, Night 1 gave all viewers a taste of the International Night atmosphere, as festival-goers and streaming fans were treated to an impromptu performance from music legend Lauryn Hill.
“We all know how amazing Lauryn Hill is,” he said nostalgically.
Taking the stage while his son YG Marley performed, Hill was covered in beads and sang singles from his Grammy-winning album and his earlier work with the Fugees.
Burrell continued, sounding amazed: “Jamaicans love her. It’s just a shame we didn’t get to promote her because a lot of people are jealous of the audience that got to see it. But I applaud Reggae Sumfest. It was great to have her on stage. Friday night turned out to be a much more international night than we expected, so I’m really grateful. It was fantastic.”
shanel.lemmie@gleanerjm.com