Stories by Stephanie Lyew

Maybe it's the variety of activities offered, or the chance to get close to top reggae and dancehall artistes, that led to the Welcome to Jamrock Cruise (WTJRC) being sold out before its sixth staging, according to Damian 'Jr Gong' Marley....

The chance to visit the island to learn the meaning of street art to the people, culture, and the artists was an opportunity Otto Schade did not have to think twice about. He hopped on a plane from London, where he is currently based, to Jamaica.The...

When renowned producer and songwriter Mikey Bennett was 35 years old, he resigned from an executive position at the Jamaica Commodity Trading Company and took on the challenge of making a name in the music industry."It was required of me to take a...

The name Marcia Aitken may not mean much to the new generation of reggae and dancehall music aficionados, but once the songs I'm Still in Love With You Boy and My Man are mentioned, some of the lyrical history starts to resurface. Both tracks became...

Standing tall, confident, and fearless at 15 to 20 feet in the air dressed in vibrant, multicoloured apparel, stilt dancers always have the audience looking up. Intricate dance routines and moves instantly put the spectator in a trance.Stilt...

Once you start dancing with Member of Parliament for Eastern St Thomas Dr Fenton Ferguson, it's almost impossible to stop.The sprightly politician who is a lover of ska, reggae and rocksteady, is very knowledgeable of the genres, and...

Behind the conservation and powerful image of Dr Angela Brown Burke is a down-to-earth individual who appreciates speaking about Jamaica's entertainment industry, while openly admitting that she is in no way an entertainer.Brown Burke is the only...

The life of an acrobat starts in the gymnasium, learning the basics - splits and flips - until they can master the harder, hair-raising stunts. But aerialist Sheinnek Mahabee of Soul Dynamics Circus took a different route.Ten years ago, facing the...

On Saturday,  Sunnation Jamaica went all out for UWI Chancellor’s Week - hosting an elegant breakfast party at the Oriental Gardens at the University of the West Indies. Dressed head to toe in white, each patron was guested...

With a street dance on nearly every corner almost every day of the week, one would be hard pressed to find a live band performing at one's favourite restaurant, lounge, or any such venue. While it might have been easier in the past to find live...

Before there was ska, rocksteady, reggae or dancehall, there was mento - traditional folk music with African and Europeans influences.Some musicologists and veteran musicians may even argue that without the prevalence of mento in the 1940s, all...