ON Sunday, January 31 beginning at 12:00 noon and ending on Monday, February 1 at 2:00am, friends, fans and colleagues of the late great reggae superstar Dennis Brown will gather on Orange Street between Charles and North Streets, to have a festive time in celebrating the 53rd anniversary of Dennis’s birth.

Dennis was born on February 1, 1957 and is a product of downtown Kingston, living for many years at 135 Orange Street, commonly called Big Yard.

The festivity will take the form of a street fair, with vendors from the neighbourhood selling art, craft and food items. Music will be provided by the legendary Soultone sound system with selector Witty Henry, and guest selectors Roy Black, Bunny Goodison, Michael Barnett, Jimmy “Solo” Howard, and invited special guest selector Mayor Desmond McKenzie, who is reputed to have the most extensive collection of Dennis Brown records.

Live performances are expected from Ken Boothe, Beres Hammond, Gregory Isaacs, Marcia Griffiths, John Holt, George Nooks, Freddy McGregor and many others, with MC Tommy Cowan and backing band Lloyd Parkes and We the People. At midnight there will be a cake-cutting ceremony with tributes paid to the Crown Prince’s musical contribution to the strength of Jamaican music. Invited guest speakers are the Honourable Olivia “Babsy” Grange, minister of Youth Sports and Culture, and Mayor McKenzie. Also paying tributes are Junior Lincoln, chairman of the Dennis Brown Trust; Trevor “Leggo” Douglas of Leggo Recording Studio and a close friend of Dennis Brown; representing the music industry, and Julian “Jingles” Reynolds, chairman of Sounds & Pressure.

The event will kick-off Reggae Month, and is organised by the Dennis Brown Trust, Jamaica Reggae Industry Association, and Sounds & Pressure, an organisation committed to the restoration of downtown Kingston as a vibrant cultural centre, and in particular Orange Street also known as Beat Street, the music Mecca of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s.