KINGSTON, Jamaica — Thousands of followers of the Stone Love sound system poured into the Red Stripe plant on Spanish Town Road in the Corporate Area on Saturday night. It was Stone Love’s 40th anniversary celebrations, and from ‘early’ as 11:00pm there was a steady stream of patrons filing into the venue.

This would continue throughout the night into early Sunday morning until there was a sizeable audience celebrating with founder Winston “Wee Pow” Powell and his selectors.

Considering the magnitude of Stone Love’s contribution to the local entertainment industry and the sound system fraternity in particular, it was not surprising the venue was dotted with personalities from these groups.

 In a true display of camaraderie, selectors and other sound systems paid tribute to ‘the immortal sound’. The music at the event catered to the varied tastes of the Stone Love audience, ranging from Metromedia’s trip down memory lane, to the smooth sounds of Alonzo Hawk.

However, it would be the gallery of Stone Love selectors including Geefus, Billy Slaughter, Iceberg, Chris Dymond, Bill Cosby, Mad Ras and the young, energetic Boom Boom, who got the audience going, recalling Stone Love’s days at venues such as Tropics, House of Leo and Skateland.

The energy level from the selectors seemed infectious as artistes who took the stage also gave great performances.

Richie Stephens, Cocoa Tea, Romain Virgo, I-Octane, Bounty Killer, K-Queens, Bling Dawg, Nitty Kutchie, Chi Ching Ching and Beenie Man gave spirited performances, which lifted the entertainment value.

Throughout the night, a number of awards were handed out to other sound systems, which also celebrated 40 years in the business.

These included King Stur Gav — the award received veteran artiste Daddy U-Roy, Black Scorpio, Killamanjaro and Soul to Soul.

Sponsors of the event, Guinness and Ciroc also presented an award to Stone Love in recognition of the milestone.

— Richard Johnson