BLISS Sundays on today
EVENTS like Weddy Weddy and Uptown Mondays cater to hardcore dancehall fans. Linton Smith hopes BLISS Sundays will have similar appeal to a mature audience whose interests include vintage music and intellectual stimulation.
Its second show is scheduled for Sunday at Tapioca By The River in Devon Pen, St Mary. The first was held April 7 at Mach’s Place, located on the border of St Ann and St Mary.
A peer counsellor and senior administrator at Delta Learning System, Smith told the Jamaica Observer that BLISS Sundays was influenced by his interaction with
parents of children he works with.
“The concept is positive social interactions and networking with a corporate flair. Music is central in all our interactions [and] every genre is represented, especially hits of the ’70s,” he explained. “BLISS is non-religious and non-political.”
With Jimmy Cliff’s We All Are One as its theme song, BLISS Sundays launched three weeks ago and, according to Smith, “We are pleased with the initial response.”
He said the Mach’s Place gig drew an enthusiastic audience, most of whom were over 35 years old, which is the demographic his team is targeting. The idea is for patrons to to listen mainly rocksteady, roots-reggae, early dancehall, and classic rhythm and blues, while discussing issues ranging from finance to the environment.
Though there is not a set timetable, Smith has big plans for the event.
“Ultimately, BLISS Sundays will be an intellectual discussion group similar to Eranos, which has met in Switzerland since 1933,” he said.
Smith is CEO of Profitable Corporate Solutions, a Kingston company which drives Delta Learning System, a unit that counsels students in a number of high schools.