Young acts for Jazz and Blues
The organisers of the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival have announced another set of acts who will grace the stage of the virtual event which is set for January 28,29, and 30.
The three young acts who will also perform on the festival are songbirds Lila
Ike and Sevana, as well as genre-bending Jamaican artiste Tesselated. This trio joins Jon Secada, Jah9 and Richie Stephens as the acts who have already been named for the shows, which is making a comeback after being on hiatus since 2015.
Organisers Adrian Allen and Marcia Mcdonnough have noted that their line-up will take in a wide range of acts, from the established to the emerging, in order to cater to the diverse market to which the festival appeals.
“When we looked at it more that 450 acts have performed on the festival over the years. So especially with the international performers, most of the ones we were thinking of have already performed here. So the decision is to bring back one act who has been on the show before, and then look to some new acts to take in the younger demographic of our target market. We are looking to cover the younger, middle and older market segments, taking into consideration the traditional, but not leaving out the younger market which is more familiar with the digital space,” Allen told the Jamaica Observer in a previous interview.
All three of the latest acts to be announced are currently pushing their latest EP projects.
Lila Ike was the first out the block in May of last year when she dropped My Experience.
“It shows my versatility as an artiste. Singing and deejaying about different experiences we have as humans
— something to show that we can all relate with each other one way or another. The EP came about because it was just the right timing. My songs, Where I’m Coming From and Second Chance, really put me out there as an artiste and then after being a part of this label deal, mi say, yes, man, it’s time now’’... it was ordained,” she said.
The record deal to which she referred is her contract with RCA Records, to which Sevana is also signed.
Bolstered by the popularity of her singles If You Only