Mark Titus, Freelance Writer

( L - R ) Blige, Hammond - photos by Claudine Housen/Staff Photographer

WESTERN BUREAU:

King of lover's rock Beres Hammond reigned supreme on the final night of Reggae Sumfest 2007 as he stretched out his musical sceptre to the thousands of patrons in attendance at the Catherine Hall, Montego Bay, venue.

While Hammond's breathtaking performance will be etched into the minds of the patrons for years to come, the performances of Tammy Chynn, Tarrus Riley, Tanya Stephens and Mary J.Blige will be on the lips of every one for a while yet.

Making her debut appearance at the annual event, songbird Tammy Chynn showed that she belonged here, with a performance that served as the appetiser for the feast of music that was to come.

Macky Conscious, easily the most underrated reggae act in Jamaica today, gave a stellar performance, while Dwayne Stephenson sang a number of popular tracks from his expected album August Town.

The much-anticipated performance of Tarrus Riley did not disappoint, and showed why he is presently Jamaica's most sought after reggae act, belting songs such as Beware, Larger Than Life, Lion Paw, Stay With You and She's Royal; he had the massive crowd begging for more.

Cunning Tanya

Tanya Stephens

There was no stopping the sparkling Tanya Stephens who with the ladies in her corner belted out tunes such as Handled The Ride, Way Back, To The Rescue, It's a Pity and These Streets, demonstrating her simple yet cunning song-writing skills that earned her the recognition as one of Jamaica's top songwriters and reggae acts.

With a combination of modern R&B and edgy hip hop sound, Mary J. Blige gave an emotionally charged performance and took ownership of the stage with her numerous hits including Be Without You, Take Me As I Am, I Am Going Down and No More Pain before exiting the stage to an resounding round of applause.

A seemingly tired Richie Spice showing off his repertoire of hits, started off well, but faded in the end, aided by a not-so-smooth Fifth Element band.

Entering the stage at about 3:00 a.m., Hammond, donned in a gold and brown-stripe shirt, tan brown slacks and his traditional Kangol, was in scintillating form from beginning to end and had the hundreds of screaming female fans' Full Attention, an they were Tempted To Touch, he kept Putting Up Resistance.

Hits such as Warriors Don't Cry, Falling In love All Over Again, Sweetness, Tight Situation, and Come Back Home had patrons on a singalong throughout his seemingly short one-hour stint.

This was followed by a special tribute to veteran Lloyd Parkes and We The People band, with acts such as Leroy Sibbles, Pinchers, Mighty Diamonds, and Half Pint brining the audience back through the years, but despite a gallant effort by '80s DJ Tiger, the roar was not as loud as before.

Beenie Man was in the house at Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest at Catherine Hall, MoBay, on Saturday. However, the question on everyone's mind was, 'Where is D'Angel, and who is the girl getting good treatment from 'The Doctor'?' The three-day music festival, which featured international artistes such as Mary J. Blige and LL Cool J, ended on Saturday. - Claudine Housen/Staff Photographer