Daviot Kelly, Staff Reporter
Left: Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller presents Derrick Harriott with his award at the Independence Gala. Right: The Rock Dancers provided a colourful opening for The Prime Minister's Independence Gala at Jamaica House. - photos by Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer
It was a musical feast on Monday night as Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller hosted her first Independence Gala since taking over the
country's leadership.
This year was all about saluting 50 years of the Jamaican recorded music industry and, specifically, the producers and singers who have impacted on Jamaica's musical scene in that time.
The award recipients were producers Sonia Pottinger, Joe Gibbs, Lloyd 'King Jammy' James and 'Steelie' and 'Clevie'; producer/performer Prince Buster and Derrick Harriott, and performers Maxi Priest, The Mighty Diamonds and Alton Ellis.
Fashionable outfits
First held in 1998, the Indepen-dence Gala has seen the populace come out to salute their fellow Jamaicans. And this is always a night for the fashion-conscious among us to delve into their wardrobe and show up dapperly dressed for this event.
The Jamaica House lawns were awash with colour from the stage lights that swivelled constantly during the approximately three-hour show.
The video vignettes of the
recipients were (refreshingly) very short. But it was the performances that came before them that guests really enjoyed.
Vintage show
With all these all-star names performing or having their works presented, this was an oldies show without an admission price. Act by act, the audience responded to groovy music.
A few familiar faces spotted among the packed gathering were: Minister of Industry, Technology, Energy and Commerce Philip Paulwell, Senator Colin Campbell, sporting legend Courtney Walsh, veteran performers Boris Gardener and Leroy Sibbles, members of the Diplomatic Corps including Brazilian Ambassador Cezar Amaral, Canadian High Commissioner Claudio Valle and wife Louise, Dominican Republic Ambassador Filomena Navarro, German Ambassador Volker Schlegel, director general in the tourism ministry, Carrole Guntley, Chinese Ambassador Zhao Zhenyu and wife Wang Xiaoju, Indian High Commissioner Shri Kailash Agrawal and Mrs. Agrawal, Barbara Clarke, Prof. Frederick Hickling, Rev. Glen Archer, Verica Bennett, Marisa Benain, Dr. Alfred Sangster, transport pioneer Charles Moore, Prof. Rex Nettleford, Dr. Trevor Hamilton and Sonia Rickards.
