Judi Emmanuel - FILE
THE SHOW did not go on at the National Arena, Kingston, on Saturday night, as the scheduled 'Evening with the Reggae Crooners' which was to have featured Tarrus Riley, Judi Emmanuel, Jimmy Riley, Tinga Stewart, Freddie McGreggor, Ken Boothe and Anthony Cruz, all with Lloyd Parkes and We The People Band, was called off.
In fact, at a few minutes after 9:00 p.m. the 15 cars in the parking lot gave no indication that a show of any great magnitude was on at all. Inside, the 23 persons clustered at the front of the VIP section emphasised the sea of empty white plastic chairs.
There was a hopeful wait, which at least was made a bit easier by good selections from Burning Spear and Marcia Griffiths, until at about 10:00 p.m. the inevitable was conceded, a microphone being tested during a remake of I'm Hurting Inside.
"I probably did not need to even use a microphone to make this announcement, as we are so few in number and closely gathered," Norma Brown-Bell said.
"We just can't seem to figure what has gone wrong... We don't have the crowd support. It is people who make the world go round. The artistes are here, they are raring to go but they can't get a vibe to sing to empty chairs," Brown-Bell said.
Expressing apologies on behalf of the promoters, she assured those present that in the future "it will happen. Where there is a will there is a way".
"All the artistes who said they were going to give of their time and talent are here. Francois (St. Juste) is here," she noted. "We want to put it on as soon as possible. We can't tell you exactly when. It is a special cause that we are working for and it will happen. Everybody who said they were going to do something did so and it will happen."
The 'Evening With the Reggae Crooners' was a fund-raiser for the Hopie Foundation's effort to set up dialysis centres across the island, beginning in Mandeville, Manchester.
The announcement was taken in good spirit, with a round of applause, one lady saying she was from Tampa, Florida. Brown-Bell advised all to keep their tickets, the disco played For Old Times Sake and the evening was definitely over.
- M.C.
