‘It was so much love’, Marcia Griffiths says of successful concert

Surprise guest artistes in the form of Beres Hammond, Buju Banton, Damian Marley and Stephen Marley walking on stage to salute the Queen of Reggae, Marcia Griffiths, was definitely an out-of-this-world experience for patrons on a night that was already fully saturated with excellent performances.

Singer Alaine was the voice for many star-struck people, as she provided her own incisive and amusing commentary as she watched that segment unfold from inside the press room.

“Yes sah! Watch yah now!” she shouted as Beres Hammond waltzed on stage. “A Buju dat! What coulda go so? Damian and Steve! But ah wha this?”

It was a roll call of reggae and dancehall music’s finest who celebrated the 60-year journey of Marcia Griffiths on Sunday night at the Hope Botanical Gardens in front of a full house of excited and appreciative patrons. But none was more excited than the Reggae Queen herself.

“I am feeling on top of the world, and I mean it from the bottom of my heart, because I cannot believe that so much love was shown to me this evening from all my colleagues. I love them so, so much. I wasn’t expecting Buju. He was the only one who surprised me. Beres was not advertised, neither Damian nor Steve, but we advertised Skip. It was so much love,” an exhilarated Griffith told The Gleaner.

She added, “I think that’s one of my secrets for longevity … all the positive energy from the young people.”

Griffiths played host for the concert, and having her inject her personal feelings about each act only added to the charm of this enchanted evening, which took patrons through the six decades of her career. “I brought six outfits for the six decades, but I wasn’t able to change into all of them because the time didn’t allow me,” she shared.

It was a concert that got full marks for excellence. “It was a fantastic production. I would definitely say it is the concert of the year. Yuh heard what Buju said when he came on stage? ‘Yuh thought I wasn’t coming, right?’ The Marleys showed up ... Spragga Benz and so many other artistes were backstage. Marcia was able to pull out everybody even with the rain,” Samory I’s manager, Bridgett Anderson, told The Gleaner.

The four-hour-long concert started and ended on time, and when The Gleaner arrived, Alaine was well into her performance, having been preceded by luminaries such as Carlene Davis, Lady G, Nadine Sutherland, Duane Stephenson, Cutty Ranks and Tony Gregory, who recorded with a teenage Marcia Griffiths in 1964.

Alaine hailed Griffiths as her “Auntie” and shared how she knew that she had “reached” when she wrote and produced a song for the Queen of Reggae. Her set was followed by female duo Brick and Lace, who showed up, as Griffiths told them, “looking hot like Scotch bonnet pepper” and thrilled with Bad to the Bone.

“Give it up for my little sister … I love her so much,” Griffiths said as she introduced Tessanne, who brought the curtains down on the first segment in impeccable style.

Part two opened with Griffiths and her son, Taf, taking centre stage, followed by Skip Marley and the Reggae Queen performing I’m Hurting Inside. Griffiths told him that she was blessed to have performed with three generations of Marleys — Bob, his son, and now Skip, his grandson. The Bob Marley look-alike was humbled.

Telling the audience that “we have some whole heap a niceness”, Griffiths then brought to centre stage Tanya Stephens, who noted that “tonight is a big deal”. Stephens thrilled with hits such as Yuh nuh Ready fi dis yet, These Streets, and It’s a Pity.

Keeping up the momentum, at 9:44 p.m., enter Busy Signal to take the baton from Stephens. He had great chemistry with the Queen of Reggae, who he dramatically got down on his knee to salute, and sealed their time on stage with a kiss to her temple.

“I am honoured to be on the same stage with you ... you are a national treasure,” the suave Busy Signal said sincerely.

His set came with Night Shift, Missing You, Jamaica Love — which he dedicated to Marcia with a few changes to the lyrics — and an exhortation to “Don’t watch the mud we all came from that”.

Prior to Shaggy making his ‘boombastic’ appearance, which had fans in a frenzy, Beenie Man, who was in the audience, was called up to sing a few lines, much to the delight of patrons. Beenie had a story. He shared that when he realised that Marcia Griffiths was his neighbour, he started going over to her house and was always welcomed. “Mi hear people saying Auntie Marcia ... [well] she is my mother,” he said, adding cheekily, “The Queen of Reggae cannot be involved in anything without the King of Dancehall.”

It was after Shaggy’s performance that the surprise guest artistes took over, starting with Beres Hammond, who sang Live on with Griffiths and then Double Trouble and Putting up Resistance. Buju Banton then electrified the stage with his presence, and there were whispers of Intimate — the upcoming event — as he teamed up with Hammond. When patrons thought that the show was at its zenith, Stephen and Damian Marley walked on and continued to satisfy their collective souls.

To close the curtains, Griffiths invited dancers from the audience to join her on stage for the Electric Slide

“It was a solid production by Solid Agency and Burke/Bodley … we always climb to the highest. What more can I say?” was the summation from Sharon Burke, principal of Solid Agency.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com