THE Jamaica Ocho Rios International Jazz Festival, for Jamaica 50 celebrations, will showcase different musical genres during its week-long concert series between June 9 and 17. Jazz, mento, samba, and salsa will form part of the mix on the opening night on Saturday, June 9 at the Courtleigh Auditorium in St Andrew. The show starts at 7:00 pm. TOP:Jimmy James BOTTOM: Ba Boom Band   Headline acts include the soul singer Jimmy James; Brazilian band Ba-Boom; dynamic keyboard players Drs … Read entire article »

By Cecelia Campbell-Livingston—– Hit Me With Music, a documentary on Jamaican dancehall music, will be featured at the annual WeBeat Festival, scheduled for June 2-7 in Trinidad and Tobago. According to the guardian.co.tt website, the documentary is part of the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival and bpTT Community Cinergy series of film screenings. VYBZ KARTEL… is in the film as a modern pioneer   Hit Me With Music explores various facets of dancehall culture, including feuds between leading artists, skin bleaching, … Read entire article »

By Basil Walters—–   ROY Wilson, half of the trailblazing Jamaican singing duo Higgs and Wilson, died last Saturday in Palm Beach, Florida. He was 72 years old. The cause of Wilson’s death has not been disclosed but the Jamaica Observer learnt he had been ailing for some time. WILSON… his debut single with Joe Higgs — Manny Oh — sold over 50,000 copies Wilson’s brother, Keith Scott — who worked at Federal Records in the early 1960s — confirmed … Read entire article »

By Holly Bynoe—- Theme: Toward a Reggae Hall of Fame: Celebrating Great Jamaican Music. The 2012 First International Reggae Poster Contest (RPC) began in December 27, 2011 with the goal of discovering fresh Reggae Poster designs from around the world. Interest in the contest grew significantly over the 4-month run with a total of 1,142 submissions from 80 countries. The contest winners were chosen from 370 finalists by a distinguished panel of judges known for their creativity and commitment to … Read entire article »

By Howard Campbell—- In August, it will be 50 years since Jamaica gained Independence from Britain. Today, the Jamaica Observer’s Entertainment section reflects on the influence Jamaican pop culture has had on that country in REGGAE BRITANNIA, a weekly feature leading up to the Golden Jubilee. FOR first-generation black Britons, growing up in Britain during the 1960s presented an identity crisis. Most were children of West Indians who moved to that country a decade earlier, determined to … Read entire article »

Celebrity Soccer Game Credit CBS 2 NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) — Thousands ofsoccer fans were angered this weekend when a celebrity soccer game was canceled, by the Department Of Education. “To tell you the truth I didn’t get any sleep last night to the morning because I was so excited about this game,” Queen soccer player Peter Reyl, told CBS 2′s Rachel Stockman. Fans were greeted by officers who were guarding the entrance of the old Boys High School field in Brooklyn. A … Read entire article »

BY CANDIESE LEVERIDGE —— CONSUMERS of patties, the popular Jamaican delicacy, are hopping mad about the new tax to be imposed on the product come Friday. “I don’t think it’s fair. Patty is poor people food; when you can’t afford anything else, you can buy a beef patty, which is under $100,” one man inside the Cross Roads branch of Tastee Limited said. Kitwanna Labeach gives his views on the tax on patties yesterday at the Tastee restaurant … Read entire article »

  SEVERAL tourists are now in hospital after an accident near the glistening waters site in Falmouth, Trelawny. A female passenger has been seriously wounded in the incident and is reportedly suffering a huge cut to her ear, Police report that the bus was raveling from the Donald Sangster Airport in Montego Bay towards the resort town of Ocho Rios, when the driver of a motorcar over took the bus and attempted to rejoin a line of traffic … Read entire article »