Buju thrills thousands at the Savannah

NOTHING could stop High Frequency Entertainment's I Am Legend concert from taking place on Sunday evening at the Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain.

Not the last minute clearance for Grammy winner and reggae sensation Buju Banton and fellow Jamaican artistes Luciano and Wayne Wonder to enter TT, not even a police search of Buju's hotel room on Saturday afternoon. The show went ahead and thousands of fans were thoroughly entertained.

The show started promptly at 6 pm with opening acts Ziggy Rankin and Isasha, both TT reggae artistes. Kes The Band followed as the appreciative audience began warming up and danced to many of the band's hits.

Lead singer Kees Dieffenthaller later told Newsday he was "thrilled" to be part of this "amazing experience."Of the concert, he said, "this is something I looked forward to some time now. As a kid, I grew up listening to Buju Banton so to get called to open for him, in Trinidad...it was an honour."

Described as one of Jamaica's biggest singing groups, Lust came on stage just after the sun set on the Savannah and delivered a solid performance featuring covers to a number of RnB and gospel songs and also some of their original music.

They were followed by Banton's long time friend singer Wayne Wonder and the newest young sensation on the reggae scene Mikayla Simpson, better known as Koffee.

And as her name implies, the crowd sipped on a special brew of Koffee mixed in with her break-out hits "Burning", "Raggamuffin" and to date her biggest song, " Toast", a tune that speaks to gratitude and appreciation for life.

Unfortunately, for reggae veteran Luciano, who was introduced on stage at about 10 pm, the crowd's response was lukewarm at best. Luciano tried his best to reignite the night's high energy but at that point it seemed "Buju fever" was too much to bear, with the crowd not moving much despite Luciano's impressive repertoire. Clearly everyone wanted to reserve their energy for the arrival of Gargamel.

After a brief intermission and some deejay music, the artiste who people were there to witness after an almost fifteen-year absence from TT, walked on to the stage amidst pyrotechnics and fog, singing his 1997 classic "Destiny" to a screaming crowd.

For those who doubted the 45-year-old's ability to deliver on stage, after such a long absence from these shores, they left the concert firm believers as Buju belted out hit after hit after hit during a high-octane 90-minute performance.

Towards the end, Police Commissioner Gary Griffith appeared on stage and after greeting Buju, jokingly told the crowd, "I'm going to sing." It was a pleasant gesture by the top cop following what many described as an embarrassing turn of events a day prior, when police raided Buju's hotel room.

Speaking with Newsday after the concert, a patron described the night as "nostalgic" adding that "Buju's performance was great. It was good to see him after so many years...I wish Buju all the best on his journey...I love him."