THE anticipation of seeing Sizzla Kalonji in performance was more than enough to keep the massive crowd from leaving during the random squalls at the 2014 CB Pan Chicken Grand Finals in downtown Kingston on Sunday evening.

The Rastafari artiste entered the stage to a prophetic mix of pyrotechnics and driving rain much to the eagerly awaiting audience.

Their wait was fully justified as Sizzla came out swinging, reaching into the depths of his musical catalogue to which patrons sang along.

His offerings included Dry Cry, Thank You Mama, Words Of Divine and Karate. Keeping things clean, due to the family nature of the event, he left out the majority of the controversial lyrics for his fans to fill in.

The musical portion of the event was besieged by onand- off bouts of rain and a late start, but the crowd was brought to a frenzy by MC Miss Kitty, who got people going with some quick juggling from DJ Juju Royal backed by a short routine from the Digicel Dancers.

Gospel artiste Kevin Downswell, who proved he wasn’t the odd man out on a secular bill, was the first of the big names up.

He exited as he entered, in command of the crowd to his hit tune You Make Me Stronger.

Rain ensued, but the audience persevered for the other big name, Konshens. Like Downswell, he went over well, running through his hits like Represent, Bad Gal, Gal A Bubble, and Winner.

The show then broke to announce the Pan Chicken Champion in an attempt to beat the coming rain. However, when the inclement weather did arrive, its viciousness couldn’t drive the crowd away as the waited patiently for Sizzla to bring the show to its late-night end.