Bounty, Zac Henry, Nazzleman for Festival Song finals - Tickets available at Tastee

Dancehall legend Bounty Killer, Zac Henry of Festival stalwarts, the Astronauts, and the reigning Festival Song winner, Nazzleman, are the special guest performers at Saturday’s Jamaica Festival Song Grand Final.

A production of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), the competition is the longest running original song contest in the island.

Scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m., the 2019 Jamaica Festival Song Grand Final will see all 11 of the competition’s finalists going head to head in a battle of performances on the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre in St Andrew.

The finalists will not only be competing for the title of 2019 Jamaica Festival Song Winner, with their winning entry becoming the soundtrack for Jamaica’s 57th anniversary of Independence, but will also be competing for millions in cash and prizes.

Tickets for the July 27 event are now available at Tastee locations in the Corporate Area and may be collected at restaurants in Cross Roads, downtown and Half-Way Tree.

Olivia Grange, minister of culture, gender, entertainment and sport, has lauded Tastee for their partnership.

Fruitful partnership

“Our partnership with Tastee is one that has always been lasting and fruitful. Tastee has a legacy and a longstanding relationship with the festival movement and the Festival Song Competition that spans many decades, and it is actually out of that relationship that gave birth to the Tastee Talent Show.

I’m very happy that Tastee is on board, and I’m hoping that next year they will be that much more involved in our Festival programme,” she said.

Tastee recently handed over a $5-million sponsorship cheque.

Director of Marketing, and Public Relations at the JCDC, Andrew Clunis, is urging patrons to go out get their tickets in time for the upcoming show.

“Tastee Jamaica is a proud partner of the Jamaica Festival Song Competition, and so it was only natural that we would utilise their central and easily accessible locations for ticket distribution. Patrons will be able to collect their tickets up to the day of the event. It is important that everyone has a chance to witness what I believe will be one of the grandest Festival Song showdowns,” said Clunis.

Clunis further noted that though patrons are required to have a ticket for entry, as the event is free, persons who show up without tickets will not be turned away, as long as seats are available.

This year’s competition differs from previous instalments, with the inclusion of a wild-card performer being one of its unique elements.

The touch of a more modern dancehall flavour in one of the entries is also a special treat for the competition.

The finalists competing for the title include Edwin Meyers, Jason ‘Iya Concord’ Wright; Percival ‘Dharma’ Lord ; Escarpment Road New Testament Church of God Choir; Nickoy ‘Shawn-D’ Green; Nester ‘Humility’ Chung; Vernon ‘Ramize’ Smith; Alero ‘Alley Bless’ Perrier, Raldene ‘Loaded Eagle’ Dyer, Meckedah ‘McKada’ Henry and Jerome ‘Jay Smith’ Smith.