Gospel reigns at Kingston Curry Festival
Published:Tuesday | December 3, 2024 | 12:08 AMAinsworth Morris/Staff Reporter
Award-winning gospel artiste and worship leader Johnmark Wigan did not disappoint patrons with hits at Sunday’s staging of Kingston Curry Festival.
Wigan, the Sterling Gospel Awards 2023 Male Vocalist of the Year, was the headline act for the evening event in addition to performers Ecina, Melia, and Mozein. He took patrons around the throne of grace on the grounds of the historical Devon House in St Andrew with his singles Beautiful, Validation, Champion, Run Mi Down, and Never Fail.
The 28-year-old artiste, born in St Thomas, Jamaica, but raised in Antigua, started his set with a rendition of Bob Marley’s Who the Cap Fit.
Being the leader who always wants to push members of his band towards greatness, Wigan wanted to “nice up curry fest inna Jesus name” by calling on his colleague, Rian Davis, to take over in performing his single Sin Naa Wear Again.
For Leighton Davis, event promoter, Kingston Curry Festival, the merger of art, food, and festival since the inception of the event four years ago, the concept has always been family oriented and geared at promoting gospel music and upcoming talent that needs exposure, hence the demographic of the four performers chosen for the latter part of the event.
He said one reason they did not have a greater artiste line-up was due to two things: lack of funds and creating a stage for persons who need exposure.
“When you are a smaller festival and you don’t have the funding to be able to do it big like a lot of the corporate-sponsored events, we have to pull on people that we believe are talented, are affordable and who want the opportunity to be shown, so we create a stage for them to be shown. And on top of it, we are a family type, so we really want to keep it more clean, so we try to search for gospel or people that we think will bring family-type entertainment,” Davis told The Gleaner.
He was also elated that amid threats from the rain and gentle afternoon showers, approximately 1,000 patrons still braved the weather and attended for the food, music, and enjoyment of Jamaican culture.