‘Joyful feeling’ as Tuesday Service celebrates second anniversary

Leaving their cares at the gate to simply hold a vibe, fans of the popular Tuesday Service gathered on Tuesday night at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre to celebrate its second anniversary. For this special occasion, the event moved to a bigger space, giving attendees a chance to ‘fulljoy’ themselves while reflecting on Tuesday Service’s mission to promote reggae and live music.

For reggae artiste and CEO of The Compound, Tom ‘Panic’ Jones, seeing the crowd turn out was a joyful feeling. “[It’s amazing] to see people [appreciate] how we try to grow live music and [how they’ve] responded because they see both the quality of talent we showcase and understand the journey,” he told The Gleaner, adding, “We give you [live music] every Tuesday but because it’s our anniversary, you know it’s special, we appreciate each and every one of you who came out,”

The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission partnered with the Dub Squad Band to add the event to the Reggae Month calendar of events so that a wide cross section of music fans could be exposed to their music platform which facilitates collaboration and creativity. Dancehall Week also had it as part of their week of activities.

Armed with folding stools and chairs, those who understood the assignment came prepared to take it all in. Tuesday Service, which usually unfolds at The Compound off Molynes Road, has become known for discovering young talent while giving them access to already established acts whom they can then learn from.

Several performers took to the stage throughout the evening, but one young female talent, Sobah, made the most of her short time in the spotlight.Unlike the others who came, saw and simply perform a song, Sobah made her moment memorable. With a catchy title like Ten Fried Dumplings, she immediately piqued the crowd’s interest — especially since more than a few had come straight from work and were seeking something to hit just the right spot, food-wise.

The slow groove of the song filled them up musically, and she then invited women from the audience who felt they could sing the chorus well enough to join her on stage and give it a try, with the lucky winner receiving not one, not two, but three fried dumplings. A few accepted the challenge.

Known for touring with many local artistes, the Dub Squad Band of musicians are well versed in accompanying talent who have something to share. Their jam session offered up a fusion of afro-beats mixed with reggae in their first stint on stage, while the second time around, they decided to mesh their musical skills with popular dancehall songs such as Aidonia’s Siddung Fi the Jockey and Vybz Kartel’s hit about a certain car, and well, the crowd was there for it.

The female vocal segment saw a host of young talent, with standouts being Nadia with Life is a Miracle and Joby Jay, who changed it up a bit by offering up something sexy with Cool Breeze. When it came to the men, Verlando Small, formerly of Digicel Rising Stars fame, delivered Best Part followed by I Wanna Know on his saxophone, and the women were definitely buying it. Javid was energetic with Woke Up This Morning, while Chris Malachi got prayerful with Brighter Days. Yohan Marley showed off how the talent ran in the bloodline as he did a tribute to his late brother, Joe Mersa. Agent Sasco made his entrance with Mix Up, and the crowd was loving it. He then followed up with Anywhere We Go and Almighty Protect, and tired bodies found the energy to rise from their seats and dance into the early morning.

nicola.cunningham@gleanerjm.com