FOR the past nine years, Clifton George Bailey III, better known as Capleton, the Prophet, or King Shango, has been staging the music festival A St Mary Mi Come From. The 2010 staging of this event, scheduled to take place on Thursday, August 5, at the Gray’s Inn Sports Complex in St Mary, is entitled, Capleton Featuring the Sons and Daughters of Legends.

In keeping with the name, the performers this year will include the Big Ship Family of singer Freddie McGregor with daughter Yashemabeth and sons Chino and Stephen; sons of Junior ‘One Blood’ Reid, Andrew and Wadah Blood; Esco, the son of Errol Thompson; Kashief Lindo, the son of Willie Lindo; Abatau, Tony Rebel’s son; Fire Pashon, Sugar Minott’s daughter; Andrew Tosh, the son of Peter Tosh; Nicky B, the son of Mikey Bennett, plus Beenie Man, Mavado, Coco T, Louie Culture, Chuck Fender, and Richie Spice.

At Tuesday’s launch of the event, Capleton’s manager, Claudette Kemp, stated that the annual charity event is the fulfilment of Capleton’s dream to be a force of change in his parish.

“Each year he is happy to see his dream realised as over the years, numerous institutions within St Mary have benefited,” she said while disclosing that Capleton is to spend over $5m on his alma mater, Islington High School.

The other beneficiaries for this year are the Annotto Bay Hospital, Port Maria Primary, St Mary Primary, Beecham Hall Infant and Primary Schools and the St Mary Police Youth Club.

The annual event has also extended support to institutions in other parishes such as the St Ann’s Bay Hospital in St Ann, as well as the Haile Selassie and Oberlin High Schools and Mothers In Crisis.

Guest speaker, Evor Gordon, while commending Capleton, stated that none of the major music festivals have given back to the industry the kind of support that is needed for it to grow and develop.

“Most of these calendar events, have paid scant regard to the development of the music,” Gordon declared. “I would have thought,” he went on, “that after years of making decent returns from the staging of these events, they would set up a fund for a scholarship to assist at least one youth in attending the school of music in order to develop his or her craft.”