Change of venue for Western Consciousness

Adrian Frater, News Editor

WESTERN BUREAU:The 25th staging of Western Consciousness, western Jamaica's premier one-night musical presentation, will be one with a difference. According to the event's promoter, the event will be staged outside of Westmoreland for the first time.

"We want to try something different this year to mark our 25th anniversary, so we are taking the event to the Montego Bay Sports Complex," said Worrell King, the CEO of King of Kings Promotion, the promoters of the event. "We have done our due diligence, and we are satisfied that it's something that can work."

While noting that there is no evidence to suggest that music lovers in Montego Bay will embrace a show that is totally cultural in nature, King is confident that the city - which has hosted stellar musical attractions such as Reggae Sumfest, the annual International Dancehall Queen Contest, the World Music Festival, the Jamaica Jazz and Blue Festival, Reggae Fever and Off Tha Wall - will embrace Western Consciousness.

"Montego Bay has a large number of devoted Western Consciousness fans, so I am sure they will relish the idea of the show coming to them this year," King said of the show which will be staged on April 13. "We will not be forgetting the Westmoreland fans as we intend to make transportation arrangements for them to come to Montego Bay."

In regard to the venue, a large open area inside the Montego Bay stadium, King said he was very excited about it because, in addition to being lush green, it is just ideal in terms of its location, size and its capacity to be made completely secured.

"We will not be using the main stadium … . We will be using the area used for warm-up, which is right beside the official playing field," said King. "We will have excellent parking as we will be utilising the stadium's parking facility."

LINE-UP TO BE FINALISED

While King is in the initial stages of putting the line-up together, because he sees 25-years as a monumental milestone, he plans to engage the services of some of the acts that have made an indelible mark on the event over the years.

"We will be going after all the acts that have given special performances over the years," said King. "We are already talking to some people and things are looking quite positive."

Among the big stars who have sparkled at Western Consciousness over the past 24 years are Beenie Man as Ras Moses, Bounty Killer as Rodney Pryce, Beres Hammond, Buju Banton, Tarrus Riley, Marcia Griffiths, Mykal Rose, Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Ritchie Spice, Mutabaraka, Brigadier Jerry and Anthony B and British-based acts King Sound, the all-female group Sisters and Levi Roots.

"We intend to bring to Montego Bay a package that includes the best available cultural acts, high-quality light and sound," said King. "Western Consciousness is more than just a concert; it is a presentation that is offering entertainment with a difference."