NEWS: Sumfest Beach Party Sets The Mood

The 20th staging of Reggae Sumfest started on an excellent note with its beach party on Sunday at Aqua Sol Theme Park in Montego Bay.

A mix of local and international visitors converged on the beach to partake in the entertainment activity that went up to about midnight when patrons began to make their way to the exit after a full day of partying.

Persons from as far as Africa, Australia and France could be seen partying on the beach, having come to enjoy the 20th anniversary edition of Reggae Sumfest. Although gates opened at noon, only a handful of partygoers could be seen at the venue as late as 4 p.m. and it was not until four hours later where scores of patrons started to enter the venue.

Montego Bay's own DJ Kentucky, Crazy Neil and Jigga showed off their skills at the turntables and had patrons gyrating to their musical selections. Crazy Neil, a crowd favourite, paused at regular intervals to talk to partygoers who happily listened.

ZJ Bambino was his usual charismatic self, engaging the audience with an electrifying mix of dancehall, reggae and hip hop that injected life into the party.

Sipping red stripe

He, along with Delano of Renaissance from Kingston, represented themselves well as partygoers sipped on Red Stripe that was included in the $1,500 price tag.

Belize was well represented with their female disc jockey Miss Blease who made her presence felt at the event and gained some new fans.

The climax of the event came when dancehall artiste Jah Vinci gave a brief but effective performance to end the beach party.

The artiste will be among the list of dancehall heavyweights who will perform on Thursday night when Reggae Sumfest swings into high gear.

Dubbed 'the greatest reggae show on earth', Reggae Sumfest will see the likes of Shabba Ranks, Lady Saw, Trey Songz, R Kelly, Junior Gong along with several others making their presence felt on stage from Thursday-Saturday.

Shabba Ranks is among those highly anticipated artistes expected to rock the event. He is slated to perform on Friday night along with Trey Songz.

Reggae Sumfest Countdown

R Kelly, who released his latest album Write Me Back on June 28, is planning a special. The multi-Grammy Award-winning artiste is planning a special performance to commemorate the 20th staging of Reggae Sumfest under the theme 'Looking Back, Moving Forward'. Patrons can expect a phenomenal experience on Saturday, July 21, at Catherine Hall, Montego Bay.

NEWS: Sumfest Adds A Touch Of Sexy This Summer with "TREY SONGZ"

TREY SONGZ


Two-time Grammy award-nominated artiste, Trey Songz, is expected to thrill fans with his smooth lyrics and his silky voice at the 20th staging of Reggae Sumfest. The artiste, who joins a brilliant line-up on Friday for International Night 1, has a catalogue that almost assures patrons a scintillating set.

Trey Songz recently performed at the Essence Music Festival where he laid his undeniable vocal talent down on the stage for fans to bask in. The sensual singer performed hits like Neighbours Know My Name,Love Faces, and Heart Attack. Here in Jamaica, the artiste's sexy reputation precedes him and fans view him as a full package - a great body, attractive sound, and handsome face.

The soulful singer is currently promoting his fifth album, Chapter V, which is to be released in the middle of the summer. The BET Awards show also nominated him in the category Best Male R&B Singer, a category won by Chris Brown.

Face of Rocawear fragrance

In 2011, he became the face for Jay-Z's Rocawear Evolution campaign - the Rocawear fragrance.

Trey Songz is best noted for the singles Can't Help But Wait, Say Aah,Bottoms Up, Successful, and more.

The multi-talented artiste is also set to have his acting debut in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D.

Reggae Sumfest is noted for its unique style of merging the endemic reggae and dancehall styles with top hip hop and R&B acts. The Sumfest stage was taken over by Nicki Minaj in 2011, and in the previous year, Usher and Chris Brown dazzled the Sumfest supporters. This year promises to be no different.

The week of activities kicks off with a beach party tomorrow. The musical celebration will resume on Thursday, with the steaming Dancehall Night.

Reggae Sumfest is sponsored by Digicel, Red Stripe, Iberostar, Jamaica Tourist Board, The Gleaner Company Ltd, and Pepsi, and takes place at Catherine Hall in Montego Bay.

VIDEO: Entertainment Report Pre-Sunfest Interview "Tommy Lee"

Tommy Lee discusses his fast rising career, his tattoos, what he learnt from Kartel, his influence on the youths and his plans for Reggae Sumfest 2012

"We Apologies for the poor video quality"