5 months ago
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Five-time Grammy Award-winning singer Dionne Warwick, along with local luminaries Barrington Levy, Gramps Morgan, Myrna Hague, Cornell Campbell, Marcia Griffiths, Luciano, Etana and Craig Ross are just some of the performers who will hit the stage at Plantation Cove in Priory, St Ann, for the four-month-long Coveside Concerts series, much to the delight of jazz and reggae fans.
Also pleased about the series and the line-up is veteran jazz singer, Myrna Hague. “This is quite an exciting venture and I am looking forward to it.. and it’s in Jamaica too,” Hague told The Sunday Gleaner.
Though she has never performed with Warwick, she shared that she has long admired her elegance and poise. “I have never performed with Dionne Warwick before but I have always admired her styling and her composure on stage,” said Hague, easily recalling her favourite songs.
“I loved the songs that she did from the ‘60s and ‘70s which were written and composed by Burt Bacharach and Hal David,” she shared.
The late lyricist David and composer Bacharach began their collaboration in 1957, and are well known for their work with Warwick.
A release from organisers said the series will kickstart on February 22 during Reggae Month with an exposition of Jamaica’s most popular music genre – reggae – dubbed One Drop. Timeless follows on March 29; Steady Rock on April 26 and a food-inclusive beach party, dubbed Memories on the Beach, on May 31.
The One Drop concert will see Dean Fraser at the helm, taking charge of musical direction, and feature performances from Barrington Levy and Luciano, two of five Jamaican acts named on the Rolling Stone 200 Greatest Singers of All Time list; along with Gramps Morgan of Grammy Award-winning group Morgan Heritage and Dance Xpressionz.
Levy, who celebrates 5o years in the music industry come 2026, has been an enduring voice with a stellar catalogue. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, he started in the industry as a youth when he formed the Mighty Multitude with his cousin Everton Dacres. They started off playing the sound systems and cut their first single, My Black Girl, in 1977.
At just 14 years old, Levy broke out as a solo act the following year with his debut solo single, A Long Time Since We Don’t Have No Love. By 1980 he had recorded four albums: Shaolin Temple, Bounty Hunter, Shine Eye Gal and Englishman.
Thereafter several hits followed such as Under Mi Sensi, Black Roses, My Woman and Money Move. In 1985 came the crossover hit Here I Come, which reached number 41 on the UK Singles Chart.
Timeless is headlined by Warwick, a 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and features Hague, Jamaica’s first lady of jazz, along with Queen of Reggae Marcia Griffiths and Duane Stephenson.
Known primarily as a jazz chanteuse, and popular for her concept and cabaret performances, Hague recorded the Melody Life album in 1972 for Studio One. Among the tracks were Melody Life, First Cut Is The Deepest, Our Day Will Come, How Could I Live, and What About Me.
Steady Rock pays homage to genres lover’s rock and rocksteady. Performers Etana, Glenn Washington, Leroy Sibbles and Cornell Campbell will appear.
Campbell, who is best known for his trademark falsetto voice, has had a career spanning several genres. During the rocksteady era, he was involved in the formation of three important harmony groups: the Sensations, the Uniques, and the Eternals. His solo career took off in 1968 when under Studio One he wrote and recorded one of Jamaica’s best two-siders ever: Stars on the A side and Queen of The Minstrel on the flip.
Coveside Concerts is a collaboration between cultural and technical practitioners in the creative industry. It has a mandate of safeguarding Jamaica’s heritage and inspiring emerging and trending artistes.
Tickets are available at FESCO service stations and online at coveside.aitix.com.
Gates open at 5 p.m. for all shows and showtime is at 7 p.m.
English (US) ·