Veteran gospel singer Lester Lewis and his wife, Singing Rose, sharing the stage at the gospel concert staged at the Holy Cross Church, 77 Half-Way Tree Road on Saturday.
-Winston Sill photoTyrone Reid
, Staff Reporter
TRADITIONAL REGGAE and its modern counterpart dancehall, but both of the gospel persuasion, had the patrons at the Holy Cross Church Hall Auditorium, 77 Half-Way Tree Road, St. Andrew, dancing into the closing minutes of Saturday night.
Lester Lewis and Papa San were the headline dance instructors, and they brought the house down.
The footloose segment of the concert staged by Greater Works International Fellowship began with Lester Lewis, who came to the stage with his wife, Singing Rose, by his side. The couple was decked out in African clothing and Lester was also armed with his guitar. The animated Lewis is quite the opposite of his wife, who was rather laid-back. Lewis' traditional reggae set featured songs like Winner Man, Sons of God Arise, Ting Pon Me and Every Time I Read My Bible amongst others. Lewis, who was a Rastafarian, got great accolades from the fans, when he in collaboration with his bass player delivered a track on the Mighty Diamonds' hit Pass the
Kutchie with the lines of Pass the Bible pon di left on side, pass the Bible pon di right hand side.
Secular reggae music was not foreign to the fans, as the roar the line received rocked the auditorium. At 11:10 p.m., it was dancehall's time to shine as the microphone was passed to Papa San.
The deejay delivered his standard set and it was enough to ensure that dancehall was not bested. He had the patrons dancing effervescently to songs such as Step Pon Di Enemy, Pop Style and God and I plus others.
Earlier in the night the patrons were treated to warm-ups from Kerron Ennis, DJ Nicholas, Prodigy, Union amongst other upcoming acts. Kerron gave a good account of herself with two renditions one of which was, the thought-provoking No Wonder that won third place in this year's Jamaica Cultural Development Commission's Gospel contest.
The a capella-singing group, Union also proved their worth. They were not on par with the original a capella but they were good enough. Deejay Nicholas did not just steal a few pages from Baby Cham he stole the entire book. Take away the lyrics and he is a Baby Cham - the voice the mannerism and even the rhythms he rode. His performance was riddled with Scriptures and he too validated his appearance.
Deejay Prodigy and M.I.B. - sign language and puppetry ministry also performed. Plus there was a fashion show that featured clothing from yesteryear. The models that strutted down the makeshift runway even pretended to be in the 'spirit'.
All in all, the show was good.
They received a healthy turnout that is, considering the not so big venue. However, the technical aspects of the show could have been better.
The microphone gave feedback that even forced one of San's back-up singers to cover his ears. Another deduction from the show's credits was its late start. The show started at about 8:10 p.m. although it had a slated 7 p.m. start time. Also on the negative side was the long and drawn out intermission.
Also at the beginning of the show, Union was announced to come on-stage but could not be found so a brave lady came out to perform and she stood alone.
Thank God she only attempted to sing two songs Draw Me Close to You and His Strength Is Perfect. She had no harmony whatsoever and her singing got progressively worse.
