SHAGGY CONSIDERS ALL-JAMAICAN LINEUP FOR NEXT CHARITY CONCERT.

Following what many regarded as the best Shaggy and Friends to date, the charity event’s creator believes that he should return to his roots for the next show.
The event’s organizer and international Reggae artiste,Orville Burrell, more popularly known as Shaggy, claims that he might have an all Jamaican lineup at the next Shaggy and Friends event, which could take place later this year. The Grammy-winning entertainer made this announcement earlier this week at an event announcing that the most recent edition of Shaggy and Friends netted JA$32 million; proceeds which fund the Bustamante Hospital for Children.
According to Shaggy, this movewill pay homage to Jamaica celebrating its 50th year of Independence this year.
“This is not engraved in stone. We all have to sit and think about it, but personally I see this as being good for the artistes, the country and our culture. A fitting way to celebrate Jamaica 50,” he said.

In Shaggy’s estimation, whenever foreign acts come to do major stage shows in Jamaica, they are mainly packed by locals who rarely get to watch said acts perform. The veteran Dancehall/Reggae artiste believes that having an all-Jamaican lineup for the next Shaggy and Friends will reel in tourists looking to get a taste of authentic Dancehall/Reggae music during Jamaica’s golden anniversary.

“They (tourists) come here to see Reggae acts, Jamaican acts. If you’re looking at brining tourism to Jamaica, bringing foreigners in, you have to have stellar performances from Jamaican acts, which used to be what happened in the 60s and 70s and we should work towards bringing that back,” he said.

“I think we as Jamaicans should all put a foot down and say ‘Yuh know whappen? Mek we support dis’ because how you going expect the international market to embrace Reggae acts if di people dem a Jamaica nah embrace dem own? To me, I think it’s the best way to go.”

The third edition of Shaggy and Friends took place on January 7 on the lawns of Jamaica House in Kingston; featuring strong performances from local act such as Beres Hammond, Tarrus Riley, Damian Marley Tami Chynn and Stephen Marley.
Since the show’s inception in 2009, Shaggy and Friends featured several international acts such as Eve, Boyz II Men and Lauryn Hill have appeared at the event.