LIVE music fans were given an added treat as Ribbiz Ultra Lounge, located at the Acropolis Gaming Lounge in Barbican, St Andrew, premeried its latest attraction on Thursday evening.

Dubbed Ribbiz Live series, the event featured American musician Jason Kostelnik and his drummer Gus Rios.

“This is an occasional event and will happen whenever we have awesome performers to showcase,” explained Kamal Bankay, one of three partners in the business. The others are Brian ‘Ribbie’ Chung and Don Creary.

According to Bankay, the idea came from overseas while he was bar-hopping.

“I stumbled across them in Florida. They had a great sound, great songs and a crowd presence, so I had to get them to Jamaica,” he said.

The musicians are weekly staple at Seminole’s Hard Rock Cafe in Florida and their set comprise of alternative rock, reggae, blues with a tinge of folk.

The evening saw Jason K on guitar and harmonica and accompanied by Gus Rios.

They turned in a crowd-pleasing performance running through two sets featuring old staples like Stand by Me, a few contempory rock classics, and their own material. However, it was their renditions of Bob Marley reggae classics interspersed throughout that had the audience begging for more.

“It’s an honour to be here in Jamaica. Bob Marley’s Redemption Song was the first thing I ever learned to play on guitar when I was just 13,” Jason K told the Observer.

While starting with overseas musicians, Bankay said they will encourage local performers to be part of it in the future.

— Rory Daley