Big payday for reggae artistes at resort Christmas shows - Popcaan’s hits flowed like Hennessy at Hedonism II

The business of north coast beach resorts hiring A-list reggae artistes for their off-property Christmas staff parties is not new. The trend started many years ago, and it escalated to a new level in the late ’80s and early ’90s when the then tourist industry leaders on the island, SuperClubs and Sandals, started booking some of the hottest names on the reggae circuit for performances at lavish Christmas staff events.

This 2019 holiday season, the trend for utilising the most popular reggae artistes for north coast resort staff parties has intensified to an unprecedented level. In the towns of Negril, Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, these private parties have become so dominant on the entertainment scene that they are generating millions of additional dollars for current reggae sensations.

The most requested artistes on the hotel staff hot list can earn a six- or seven-figure income for a performance of about half an hour. The pay cheque is secure, compared to concert promoters who are sometimes challenged to cough up the payment if the show flops. And while there are rarely advertising benefits that come with these private performances, the word-of-mouth talk on these hotel shows is massive, with thousands of hotel workers sharing information on upcoming performances on a daily basis over the season. Despite the absence of loud media advertising, artistes get to enjoy a five-star welcome to cocoons of opulence that wouldn’t normally be on the radar of most of the younger ones.

Some of the standout picks for this season included the annual Hedonism II holiday revelry where the unruly razzle dazzle king Popcaan brought the house down with delirious screams and applause. The property is enjoying a great year for business and they celebrated in fine style with edgy fashion, great food, unabashed sexiness, highlighted with the togetherness that the holiday spirit brings.

Flirtatious performance

For almost 45 minutes, the St Thomas-born star served up a scintillating performance that was laced with gyrations, flirtations and innuendos that one Hedonism employee described as ‘pure pleasure’.

The hits flowed like Hennessy. Never Sober, Party Shot, Firm & Strong, Unruly Prayer and Silence hit the bullseye and were enthusiastically received by an appreciative staff. The popular dancehall recording artiste, who signed last year to Drake’s OVO Sound record label, closed out his fiery performance with Family, dedicated to his faithful, fun-loving Hedonism fans.

A few days earlier, sultry Shenseea literally blocked traffic on Negril’s beach road, performing for the Royalton hotel staff party.

Bounty Killer also headed west to Negril for what proved to be a jaw-dropping performance at Sandals ’90s dancehall-themed staff party, held this year at Negril Golf Club. And reggae crooner Richie Stephens, fresh from his southeast Asia tour, also got in on the Christmas party action in Montego Bay where he performed at Rose Hall for a private tourism gig. Other artistes like Beenie Man and Dexter Daps were in demand. RDX did the Palladium staff party and Ding Dong played for Riu.

A few music industry insiders feel that the accelerated trend for artistes to jump on hotel staff shows is partly due to the disappearance of some of the iconic shows like Sting, and of course the lucrative, secure payday that resorts offer.

“Just about all hotels have had a great year and so there is no resistance from management to thank the staff for the big role they play in service delivery,” an executive for a hotel brand from Latin America told The Gleaner.

Resorts from elsewhere in the Caribbean are contributing to the reggae money pot too. A few days ago Big Ship captain Freddie McGregor sneaked into the island of St Lucia with Jamaican female icon Tanya Stephens for a surprise appearance at a resort staff party on that island.

“It is indeed a beautiful thing when we are able to collectively take reggae music to brighten the Christmas for hotel workers in Jamaica and in the Caribbean,” McGregor told The Gleaner from a private location in St Lucia.