News: No-Shows At Reggae Fest

WHAT HAPPENED AT Reggae Carifest in New York?

Reports from the United States claim that several of Jamaica's leading acts who were scheduled for the annual stage show were missing this past Sunday, leaving some fans fuming.

The no-shows even made it to the pages of the New York Times newspaper, with the headline : "A Day of Roots, Dancehall and No-Shows."

According to the reports, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Elephant Man, and TOK were not present at the event held at the Randall's Island Park in Manhattan. Subsequent checks by THE STAR revealed that the group TOK was not even billed for the event, even though patrons there expected them to perform.

Vybz Kartel, who was actually at the venue, kicked off with the promoters, it is said, and then refused to work.

One of the producers of the show, Junior Burton, told THE STAR that a combination of contract breaches and unavoidable circumstances resulted in the no-shows of the dancehall heavyweights.

"Bounty Killer was cancelled because of the gays," he stated.

This was in apparent reference tothe show's sponsorship by Guinness. Here in Jamaica, Guinness, under the Red Stripe umbrella, declared that they would not be sponsoring any event headlined by Bounty Killer because of their commitment to the code of conduct laid out by the coalition of corporate sponsors.

Sponsorship arrangement

Last week Thursday, THE STAR reported that his appearance at Reggae Carifest was in doubt due to the sponsorship arrangement. Up to press time yesterday, Bounty Killer could not be reached for comment on the issue.

Also according to Junior Burton, Beenie Man cancelled his appearance due to uncertainty about the weather, since at the time news had surfaced that Hurricane Dennis would hit Jamaica.

"TOK were never advertised or booked for this show; people just wanted to see them there," stated Burton, about the dancehall quartet.

Kartel, he said, decided not to work when time ran out and he realised he would have to share his time with DJ Merciless.

"Vybz Kartel refused to go on stage after arriving there," stated Burton. "We were running out of time, and we had Capleton left to work, so his band was there. This band would have to back Kartel, and it turned out that he would have to share the time with Merciless, so he refused and left."

However, according to Burton, Elephant Man broke his contract.

"Elephant Man broke his contract with us because he took two other dates in New York," Burton said. In fairness to him, he added, Elephant Man made them aware a few days before the show that he would be unavailable.

"We knew like four days before the show, so we had to go on the radio to let people know he would not be there."

[ Read the rest of the story here ]

--Knockz