Promoters confident as Mother’s Day welcomes three big concerts
Published:Friday | May 5, 2023 | 12:36 AMYasmine Peru/Senior Gleaner Writer
With carnival in Jamaica just concluded and the organisers hailing its success and international support, Mother’s Day seems set to keep the trend. Three big events are being advertised simultaneously for Kingston, all of which are headlined by big name overseas acts. Interestingly, two of the events are on the same night, one at Hope Gardens and the other at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, but all the promoters are confident of success.
President of the Entertainment Advisory Board (EAB), Howard McIntosh, sees this as encouraging and an indication that the entertainment industry is returning to normal after being on its knees during the pandemic years. He noted that the EAB “is happy to see the return of the events industry closer to normalcy”.
The activities kick off this Saturday with the Perry’s Pre-Mother’s Day Event at Hope Gardens, headlined by Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter, Regina Belle. Organised by businessman Peter Perry, the concert features Queen of Reggae, Marcia Griffiths, alongside musical stalwarts Glen Washington and George Nooks.
A jovial Perry said that he is optimistic that the full line-up of artistes will being the anticipated crowd into the venue.
“We have done our homework and covered our bases. I have a great team working with and the feedback has been very encouraging. Mother’s Day is special to Jamaicans ... no matter where we come from. And after the pandemic, people want to celebrate and feel comfortable. And we are providing that,” he said.
Red Rose for Gregory, the annual tribute show for the late reggae singer, organised by his widow, June, will take place on Mother’s Day, May 14, at Hope Gardens, and features The Manhattans and Deniece Williams, alongside JC Lodge, Etana, Errol Dunkley, Hezron, Robert Minott, Mary Isaacs, Ray Isaacs, and Khausion.
“Coming back after two years is hectic, but it is also the first one that I am hands-on so much. Other shows are out there in the space, but we are putting in the work and we expect the results. The other two promoters are my friends, as well and so we promote, we promote, we promote. It is not a competition,” June Isaacs said.
She is feeling especially pleased that this is the stage which will host Deniece Williams’ goodbye concert.
“This is Deniece Williams’ final performance and she is happy to do it again on our stage. Before the pandemic she was here and now she’s back with a bang. It’s an honour to know that she will be retiring on our stage. Deniece Williams and Gregory shared the same manager years ago ... Don Taylor used to manage Deniece and also Gregory, so we are no strangers here.”
Rose Royce, the classic rhythm and blues group which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, will headline To Mom With Love at The Jamaica Pegasus on Mother’s Day, May 14. It returns after a three-year break and promoter, Marvin ‘Horseman’ Pitterson, is focused on his own lane.
“I’m not worried about anybody’s show, I am focused on my own show,” Pitterson said. “We have been promoting and everybody is seeing it. Our pre-sale tickets will be out today and it’s $15,000. At the gate, its $20,000 and that includes cocktails. One price for everybody.”
In addition to Rose Royce, To Mom With Love will showcase the talents of AJ Brown and Gem Myers.
EAB Chairman McIntosh is encouraging patrons to support these events.
“The last few years have been extremely rough. We know that some industry players took the time to retool and we are seeing the benefits of this. This post-pandemic period, which is really the return of the Roaring ‘20s, represents one of great opportunity for Jamaica and the entire entertainment industry. We are pleased to see that all of the properly organised and well promoted events have done well. Reggae Month and Jamaica Carnival have done spectacularly well. We are most thankful that the events are taking place without major incidents. We look forward to a great Mother’s Day weekend of events. We ask everyone to support these events and all the other certified and approved events across the length and breadth of Jamaica,” McIntosh said.
He thanked all the stakeholders that have helped in this return, including “the Government led by the minister and MCGES (Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport), the municipal corporations, the police, the promoters, the sponsors, the service providers and most critically the fans for their support in continuing to make Jamaica the entertainment capital”.
Turning briefly to the vexing question of lack of venues, McIntosh stated, “We continue to plead for more venues to make the events industry bigger and better. We also look forward to a wonderful summer of events and continued support from the great Jamaicans and all the lovers of Jamaican music, culture, events and entertainment all over the world. One Love!”