SHAGGY TO HAND OVER THE FUNDS FROM “SHAGGY & FRIENDS CONCERT!”

COME tomorrow, recording artist and philanthropist Shaggy will hand over the funds raised for the Bustamante Hospital for Children from his Shaggy and Friends Concert held in January.

The event, held on the lawns of Jamaica House in Kingston, saw performance acts including from OMI, Sean Kingston, Ashanti, En Vogue, and Beenie Man.

He said he is keeping this year’s final figure close to his chest until tomorrow’s event.

“All I can say is that I am pleased. Absolutely pleased with the figure we raised this year, but I will tell you the figure on Tuesday,” he told the Jamaica Observer last night.

The artist, who is known for hits including It Wasn’t Me, Boombastic and Angel, said one of the positives about this year’s show was the continued support from the Jamaican people for the cause.

“It was great to see patrons coming out in their numbers and still buying into the cause. We were able to keep the ticket prices stable, but in this economic climate you never know, so I was grateful for the turnout. If there was a negative, I would say it was the date for the concert — January 2. Logistically and otherwise, it was just a rough date for us and we would never do it on that date again. Just to give you an idea, we completed the set up of the venue in half a day, which is crazy. You had tents, lighting and sound equipment coming in on the day of the event from New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day parties and events around the place. That was a nightmare,” he said.

First held in 2009, the event became a biennial one with shows in 2012. So far, Shaggy, through his Make a Difference Foundation has raised more than US$1.6 million for the island’s sole pediatric facility.