By Mel Cooke, Freelance WriterWESTERN BUREAU:
AT TIMES, the launch of the 16th staging of Western Consciousness was more like a birthday party than a stage show preview.
A proud father, Worrell King of King of Kings Promotions, and godfather of sorts, Cordell Green, who emceed the first show, oversaw the annual event's coming-of-age at the Talk of The Town Restaurant, Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, on Tuesday evening.
There was a lot of reminiscing, but there was also a long, hard look at the line-up for this year's staging, which takes place at the Llandilo Cultural Centre in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, on Saturday, April 24.
There is at least one fundamental difference between then and now, though, as Western Consciousness has attracted a title sponsor in Guinness.
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But there is also one fundamental similarity, in that the major headliner for the first 'Western Consciousness', Michael Rose, will return for the sweet 16 as a part of the newly-reunited Black Uhuru, along with Ducky Simpson.
At the forefront of the show will also be Beres Hammond, Buju Banton, Luciano and Marcia Griffiths, who is celebrating 40 years in the music industry.
Luciano was present at the launch, as was Natty King, who will be making his Consciousness debut.
There is a trio which was not on the original poster for the show due to missed connections, but who will very much be present at the Llandilo Cultural Centre on April 24. They are Richie Spice, Chuck Fender and Anthony Cruz from the Fifth Element camp.
Colin 'Iley Dread' Levy, Tarrus Riley, Lavaska, Terry Linen and Jah Mason are on the line-up, with De I Am slated to deliver the spoken word and the six-man To-Isis to provide harmonious positive thoughts as they did at the launch with Ghetto Pain, to music supplied by the SANE Band.
It was a satisfied Worrell King who took to the podium. "When this thing was started I was called a total mad man. When we started, the music was down there, in the mud. It is not where we want it now, but it is a little 'up'. We no have no apology to no guy. We naa jump pon no bandwagon. We create what is happening today," he said.
He also addressed something which he heard on radio an announcer mulling over the combination of 'Guinness' and 'Western Consciousness'. "I never heard that same person saying, 'That show, bottle a fling, man a tump dung man'?" he said.
Dave DaCosta, marketing manager of Guinness, expressed the company's delight at being title sponsors and pointed to the power of the public when he said: "We are encouraging you to help raise the bar by demanding higher quality music."
And, Cordell Green will team up with the same man to emcee the 16th staging of Guinness Western Consciousness as he did the first, Michael Thomas.
He recapped the show's
history, noting that there was a children's admission fee of $10 on the very first poster, coming right through to the show's most controversial moment the invitation to Ras Moses (as opposed to Beenie Man) to
perform last year.
"The concept at the time (Consciousness began) was novel. It was a minority point. The promoters have stuck to their standards," he said,
just before the birthday cake was cut.
