Buju Banton electrifies crowd at Intimate

"Intimate, are you ready?" asked Buju Banton, one of the headliners at the second staging of the Intimate Concert at Plantation Cove in St Ann early Sunday morning. With phones in hand and fans moving closer to the stage, it was clear they were.

Destiny was the opening song from the Grammy Award-winning reggae legend, followed by Not An Easy Road, and the crowd roared in appreciation. Buju was supported by a fantastic eight-piece band and three fashionably dressed backing vocalists, one of whom is his sister.

Jah Give I Strength, Buju sang as he showed his own physical strength by jumping and dancing across the stage and upping the excitement ante.

It seemed as if every phone in the venue was held up as eager fans absorbed being in the presence of the Gargamel. He paused to address the nightmare traffic that patrons braved to get Intimate with him.

"We tried our best and we hope that the powerful people are looking. We can expect some traffic but not at [that] rate," Buju said. He said his piece and didn’t miss a musical beat.

At 2 a.m. it was time for dancehall and the whole Plantation Cove bruk out.

The Intimate Concert saw the likes of fellow headliner Beres Hammond and other star-studded acts like Marcia Griffiths, Romain Virgo, Wayne Wonder and Bugle, take the stage, giving fans a wholesome experience.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com