The Jamaica Tourist Board is presenting a variety of offerings for a spectacular and memorable Spring Break on the island. The highlight is JAMFEST, the concert series that will rock Negril each Monday evening in March 2008, when Shaggy, Beenie Man and Sean Paul will headline a star-studded line-up. A complete lineup is coming so check back!
Director of Tourism Basil Smith commented: "The JAMFEST line-up of talent is going to be extraordinary. Jamaica is incontestably the place to be for spring break 2008, and our specially designed packages make it wonderfully accessible.
This is the ideal time for students from across the U.S. to learn why Jamaica is celebrated around the globe for its legendary music. And with offerings like these, it's easy to see why Jamaica continues to be the premier spring break destination."
Head of the Negril Chapter of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, Evelyn Smith is happy with this development. Said she, "We in Negril are eagerly anticipating the staging of JAMFEST, which not only showcases leading reggae artistes, but will re-awaken the Spring Break fever for Negril, and revitalize our 'capital of casual'". She added, "the partnership of the Jamaica Tourist Board, and major Spring Break Tour Operators
Student Travel Services (STS) and Sun Splash Tours and indeed the wider Negril community must be commended for their efforts in this initiative".
http://www.springbreakjamfest.com
Reggae artists Shaggy and Beenie Man will headline the star-studded line-up.
Nicknamed after the Scooby-Doo character, Shaggy was born in Kingston, Jamaica and moved to the Flatbush area of Brooklyn to join his mother when he turned 18. Shaggy first hit the pop charts with his 1993 remake of the early-'60s reggae classic "Oh Carolina."
Shaggy hasn't been shy about lifting hooks wholesale from pop hits of the past, following a chart-making blueprint similar to that of hip-hop stars like Puff Daddy, this musical variety and his witty lyricism set him apart from traditional reggae dancehall stars.
As a result, he has become one of the few cross-over reggae artists to top the album and pop singles charts in America, and in other countries where he's had even greater success.
Beenie Man is the self proclaimed King Of The Dancehall, having been nominated for 3 Grammys and won multiple MOBOs in the UK. The 33-year-old Kingston native released his first record, "Too Fancy" at the tender age of 7-years-old in in '81, Beenie Man has been at the forefront of the reggie genre and has been largely responsible for growing it into the international phenomenon it is today.
