2 months ago
25
Smooth performances from singers Maxi Priest and Lukie D were the icing on the cake at the recent soft opening of the 36-room Tiamo Beach Resort and Spa in Runaway Bay, St Ann. The name Tiamo is Italian for ‘I love you’, and they both chose to liberally sprinkle their sets with groovy lovers rock and R&B selections.
“It’s big people time,” Lukie D declared shortly after giving praise with the anthemic Goodness of God. Dressed in full white, and even looking pious, Lukie D could almost be called angelic, but it’s just that angels prefer wings rather than the signature too-tight jacket that the L.U.S.T singer visibly struggled to get himself out of.
The invited guests at the Concert Under the Stars found it humorous, and, clearly in a good mood, they sang along lustily as he did songs such as Sweet Caroline, Let’s Get it On, Just As I Am and Thinking Out Loud.
“Some man buy voice but me born with it,” Lukie D told fans with a cheeky smile as he was applauded for climbing a particularly high note with finesse.
Prior to his performance, the Hard Drive band and talented reggae-jazz singer, Apryl Jaye, took full charge of the stage, having been introduced by emcee Fancy Cat.
Lukie D made way for surprise guest artiste, Maxi Priest. The consummate performer worked like he was on a big stage and seemed prepared to sing from 11 p.m. straight until daylight. He delved into his catalogue of hits and came up with gems such as Oh Baby It’s a Wild World, Just A Little Bit Longer, Crazy Love, Mr Loverman, among others, and brought on his deejay Fresh Kid to inject a bolder dancehall flavour.
The performance segment closed off with Ryan Bailey, a member of the entertainment fraternity who is known for his expertise in events management, but who is now literally stepping on the stage with microphone in hand. Sticking to the love theme, Bailey performed No More Rain and definitely gained some new fans for himself.
A member of the planning committee for the event, Bailey shared that live shows will be part of the offerings at Tiamo, and the principals, Annika D’Andrea and Clinton Valentine, whose love story generated the name of the hotel concurred.
Actually, it would be fair to say that the entertainment segment of the event started when the emcee D’Andrea shared that the heavy duty back hoe that was prominently parked up at the back of the stage played a huge role in that love story. “Steam fish can mek yuh get hotel,” were her words and everybody wanted to hear the details.
As D’Andrea explained, however, she was already in possession of the property when she needed an excavator to do a particular job, however it was a man with a back hoe who turned up. She was overseas at the time and the project manager called and told her that although it was the wrong machine, the driver said he could do the job.
On her return to Jamaica, she met Valentine, who was the owner/driver of the back hoe. He was completing the job at the hotel and one day she offered to share her fish lunch with him, as he didn’t eat meat and there was nothing else available. They got talking over lunch and the rest, as they say, is history. As for Valentine, who had migrated to Canada as a child and returned home years later, he recalled taking on the job with extreme reluctance, repeatedly telling his friend that “me don’t work for people”.
In closing, D’Andrea said, “I believe that God has a plan for us. Anytime you pray for wisdom and understanding God will put you in a situation that will make it work.”
And that is the story of Tiamo, the hotel which sits on approximately two acres of beach front property and which “offers an intimate boutique experience, thoughtfully curated to emphasise wellness and relaxation”.
English (US) ·