Big acts for Guinness Day concert

Entertainment

Saturday, September 07, 2013

THE Arthur Guinness Day concert, scheduled for September 26 at the National Indoor Sports Centre in St Andrew, will again feature top dancehall and roots-reggae acts.Busy Signal, Aidonia, Tarrus Riley and I-Octane have been confirmed for the event, which was a big success last year.The Arthur Guinness Day is held in honour of the Irish businessman/philantropist who founded the world-famous Guinness brewery in the 18th century.Now in its fifth year, the ‘Day’ takes place in 55 countries this year.According to Kamal Powell, a brand manager at Red Stripe, local distributors of Guinness, the concerts will live up to Arthur Guinness’ benevolent nature.“Community development is a major arm of our corporate social responsibility programme and the contribution from the Arthur Guinness Fund to these development programmes is just a demonstration of our commitment to nation building,” Powell said.Approximately $1.5 million from the Arthur Guinness Fund has been committed to five projects in Jamaica.

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Big acts for
Guinness
Day concert

Queen Ifrica removed from Canadian concert

QUEEN Ifrica’s management has denied that the entertainer’s Canadian work permit has been withdrawn.

However, a statement from the management team made no mention of a Toronto concert where she was scheduled to perform.The Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) reported on Friday that the Jamaican entertainer had been pulled from the Rastafest concert following complaints from the Canada-based Jamaica Association of Gays and Lesbians Abroad (JAGLA), which alleged that the dancehall performer was “notorious” for her homophobic lyrics.Coordinator of the Rastafest concert, Masani Montague, confirmed that the singer would not be performing, which he said was “due to circumstances beyond our control”.JAGLA spokesman, Kerron Orlando, said that the “decision has sent a clear message that persons who make comments that jeopardise the well-being of members of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community in Jamaica will not be welcomed in Canada”.He said he hoped that other homophobic persons will remember that performers will be condemned and called on the Jamaican Government to immediately put in place measures to protect members of the LGBT community.On Thursday, the Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, which had given the festival Can$4,200, said it was “disappointed to hear that an artiste using homophobic language was being featured at this event.“While it is Rastafest, not the federal government who is responsible for programming decisions, we will ensure that future funding requests from them are very carefully reviewed,” the group said.Rastafest is sponsored in part by the Toronto Public Library and Service Canada.Earlier this month, the Jamaican Government expressed “regret” at the statements made by Queen Ifrica during the Grand Gala, the main event to mark the nation’s 51st Independence.In a statement, the Ministry of Youth and Culture said the event was used by the singer “as a platform to express her personal opinions and views on matters that may be considered controversial, rather than to perform in the agreed scripted and rehearsed manner consistent with the thematic production.“Furthermore, the comments by the artiste were inappropriate in the setting of a national, State-funded event with more than 20,000 persons, including children, who were in the National Stadium and thousands more watching on television and online”.During her performance, statements glorifying male straightness, heterosexual marriage and the legalisation of marijuana were among those made on stage.Yesterday, Queen Ifrica expressed shock and disappointment at what she called the “ensuing brouhaha” arising from certain aspects of her performance at the Grand Gala celebrations on August 6, 2013.— CMC and Observer reportsQueen Ifrica performing at a local event.

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Queen Ifrica removed from Canadian concert