Festival song tour begins in MoBay today
THE TOP 10 performers in the 2018 Jamaica Festival Song Competition will hit the road today, marking the beginning of a the 2018 Festival Song Road Show, a month-long, cross-island display of their performance skills. Organised by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), an agency of the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the road tour will see the performers, who include a mass choir, trying to outshine and outsing each other at six stops in as many parishes.
“We are excited to get the 2018 Festival Song Road Show under way as it will not only give the performers a chance to perform live for audiences across the country, but will also give the public a chance to learn the winning songs and pick their favourite that they will be carrying for the finals,“said Orville Hill, interim executive director at the JCDC, who also encouraged the public to come out to the road shows, which are free and promise lots of prizes and surprises.
The islandwide tour will kick off in Sam Sharpe Square, Montego Bay, St James, today, then moves on to Mandeville Town Square, Manchester, tomorrow. On Saturday, June 9, they will be in Junction, St Elizabeth. On Saturday, June 16, the road show will pull into Ocho Rios, St Ann, before arriving in Port Antonio, Portland, on Friday, June 22. The final stop will be Munimar Square, Spanish Town, St Catherine, on Friday, June 29. All the road shows begin at 4 p.m.
“This series of performances across the country is a precursor to the competition’s grand final on Sunday, July 15, at which time the ultimate song, the one that will form the soundtrack for Jamaica’s 56th anniversary of Independence, will be selected.” Hill stated.
The Jamaica Festival Song Competition is the longestrunning song competition in Jamaica.