As early as 2pm on New Year’s Day, hundreds of persons descended upon the gates of the Grizzly’s Plantation Cove in St. Ann for the inaugural staging of Intimate, a concert headlined by 5 of Jamaica’s best musical acts; Buju Banton, Beres Hammond, Tarrus Riley, Marcia Griffiths and L.U.S.T.
For the thousands of people who managed to reach the venue by 11:30 pm when Tarrus Riley went on stage they were treated to a Masterclass in musical performance.
— JR (@jrwatkis) January 2, 2023
Riley, the son of Reggae singer Jimmy Riley has been making his mark as a performer and recording artist since the mid 2000s. His biggest songs have a global impact and he has a Gold Plaque with Pop star Ellie Goulding to prove it.
However where the Powerful singer continues to stand out among his musical peers is his ability to reinvent himself and make songs that go to the heart of the Jamaican people. After delivering a slew of hits like She’s Royal, Super Man and more, he brought out his son Mekiem to accompany him on guitars. The moment defined the show’s name “Intimate” as patrons were moved to tears when the Rileys reflected on how Grandfather Riley introduced Tarrus to music at a tender age.
WMV caught up with Tarrus after his show stopping performance and he said, “I couldn’t plan it, I just go with the flow because it’s real”.
Another thing that is real is the financial return on musical intimacy. Tickets cost between J$10,000 all the way to the premium price US$10,000. The latter of which is more than the cost to see Adele at her Caesers Palace Las Vegas residency.
The direct impact on the hotel industry can not be understated. WMV tried to book a hotel room/AirBnB within one hundred kilometers of the tourist town venue for the weekend, but we were told all rooms were sold out.
Buju Banton and Beres Hammond are known crowd pullers but one of the perks of superstardom, is the audience comes to you regardless of the cost or location. With no rooms available, both local and visiting fans had to contend with traffic for more than three hours to get to the venue coming from both sides of the island.
Beres, at 67, is arguably the best vocalist in Jamaica’s musical history, delivered a timely, well paced set of hits. Buju and Popcaan joined him on stage at intervals to the delight of the crowd.
When Banton finally took to the stage for his set in a smooth transition from the Beres’ line “Just like Magic You Were Gone”, they showed why coordinated performances are rewarding again. Kudos for the creative direction.
Banton’s set was nothing short of legendary. He reminded his Gen X and Millennial fans that they have been in a relationship through his ups and downs for more than 34 years as he revisited early dancehall classics like “Dicky” and “Stamina Daddy”. At 49, he performed for 2 hours non stop taking time to sign autographs for the close-sitting VIPs who travelled from far to get a touch of the Gargamel.
Intimate is already the show of the year!
