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The BEST of both WORLDS, a concert running neck and neck alongside various other events carded for the long Easter Weekend. With plenty money being spent judging from the high level of advertising being done, there was a definite buzz and hype stirring up concerning this reggae show.

With the date of the event drawing closer, TJJ even rolled up to the airport in order to catch up with some of the foreign artists as they touched down in Trinidad. There wasn’t anything much to capture however, but one thing we knew for certain was that Jamaican artists such as Richie Spice and Elephant Man had arrived.

Folks were not expecting to see Sizzla, as there was a lot of unofficial word about him not coming. Other than that things seemed normal and the rest of the cast was scheduled to perform. On the day of the show itself, local radio stations hosted some of the Jamaican artists and conducted interviews. All seemed well and everyone was in anticipation for tonight’s show.

That evening while at another engagement, TJJ was keeping current with what was going on at the venue. We heard that there were lots of people at the National Stadium, but up until 1 AM no foreign artist had appeared on stage to perform. Strange, but good for us, as we were not missing out on too much :-) Arriving at 1:30 AM, it didn’t hold well that when we asked to speak to the promoter, we were told that they had not arrived as yet.... yikes!

Money was well spent on the venue's setting and ambiance. There was a large erected covered stage, laptop DJ, well laid out VIP and General admission sections and a tented backstage area with all the trimmings such as flowers, champaign, flat screen TVs and large sofas.

The DJs kept the crowd in an expectant mood, and with no word of what was to come, patrons were merrily drinking their fill and partying the night away. By 2 AM we had gotten the “L” that there had been a problem and no entertainers were going to perform and indeed Elephant Man had arrived at the venue and subsequently left.

We interviewed several members of the audience, asking them “How would you feel if no foreign entertainers performed?” The general response in the VIP was mainly along the lines of “We really doh care, we are just here to party and support the promoters.” Funny enough some folks didn’t even know who was suppose to perform at the concert. We are not sure if the patrons we interviewed took us seriously, but when the DJ left and the lights on stage were turned off at 3 PM, our prophecy began to fulfill itself.

With no announcement or apology given to the thousands of patrons present, things were beginning to get a bit sticky. Alcohol dun set in some already and plenty money was spent on advance tickets. People came out to see a show! Well voices of disgusts were rising and the scene was becoming quite uncomfortable. Later on in the night, riot police had to be called in to quell the masses with tear gas and rubber bullets.

This concert was billed as the best of Reggae and Dancehall with no foreign acts representing either Dancehall or Reggae. Big up to the local reggae acts who performed however. Plenty people money jump up that night with VIP tickets going for like $300TT. It is very unlikely that any patrons will get any sort of redress giving the perception that fraud is Trini culture??!! That ain’t right!! For future reference, don’t purchase tickets for an upcoming event/promotion without getting the facts about the promoter and the success of past productions they put on. Jus a lil piece of advice.