Beres the boss of Valentine’s Day at Woodstock in Negril
BERES HAMMOND was in his usual fine form as he performed before hundreds of persons at the Appleton Estate’s Signature Nights Valentines event, Woodstock, Negril on Tuesday night.
At 10:45 p.m., when emcee Ron Muschette announced Hammond’s arrival, describing him as “reggae’s biggest boss”, men and women alike erupted in wild cheers. And as he walked onstage crooning his 1996 hit, Take Time to Love, the women who had gathered at the front of the stage melted, stretching their hands out, beckoning Hammond to touch them.
There were intervals where Hammond danced, jumped and rocked, much to the delight of his fans. They went wild when he appeared on the verge of giving a speech, then said: “Negril,” and then laughingly instead sang the opening line of No Goodbye.
FIRST LOCAL 2017 SHOW
Hammond was doing his first local performance of 2017, and according to him, his first in Negril for a long time. And persons from as far away as Kingston trekked across the island to see him.
Midway his 80-minute-long performance, Hammond had a surprise artiste for a few minutes in the form of Beenie Man, who sang snippets of Romie and Who Am I (Sim Simma), among others, evoking a hug from a smiling Hammond. At one point when the ‘Doctor’ signalled his intent to exit the stage, Hammond signalled to him to carry on.
Can’t Stop a Man and Step Aside were among the favourites which Hammond sang. One Dance was obviously a favourite of the senior patrons, who sang along word for word as soon as Hammond started the introduction. The same happened for She Loves Me Now, Falling in Love All Over Again and La La La. Hammond was preceded by Ras Minimum, Otis Gayle and Naggo Morris, who also made their presence felt.