IT was a magical affair at the Moon Palace Jamaica Grande resort in Ocho Rios, St Ann, last Saturday, as Canadian reggae fusion band Magic! performed inside the jam-packed Grand Ballroom at the AAA Four Diamond hotel’s property.

The group delivered songs from its two albums, Don’t Kill the Magic andPrimary Colours, which went down well with patrons. Sounding like their actual studio recordings, Magic! had the mostly female audience members singing along. Screams and shouts could be heard as the group segued into each song.

“We are happy to be here in Jamaica to perform for the fans. This is our second time being here, thanks to the success of our international hit Rude, which has given us awesome opportunities, including playing here in Jamaica,” Nasri Atweh told Splash shortly before the group’s performance.

With songs including Red Dress, Lay You Down Easy (a collaboration with Sean Paul), Let Your Hair Down, impressive covers of Bob Marley’s Is This Love and Drake’s Hotline Bling, as well as the international hitRude, there was nothing that Magic! could do wrong.

Marlee Morgan from North Carolina said she came to the resort just to see the band perform.

“My friends are here with me from North Carolina and we wanted to see Magic! It has been a great show,” she said.

Rude and Red Dress were two of Jackie Clarke’s favourite songs from the Magic! catalogue. The England native, who was vacationing at the resort with her two daughters, said she was blown away by the group’s performance.

“I liked how they interacted with the patrons. Even when the guy from Argentina came up on the stage and proposed to his fiance, and how they incorporated that into their performance, was simply amazing,” she said.

Guillermo Oliva, director of sales at Moon Palace Jamaica Grande, said the hotel was happy to have hosted Magic!

“We chose to have Magic! perform because of the fact that they play a lot of reggae and I believe that was something important to us. To give this kind of product to our guests was indeed a pleasure for us,” said Olivo.

Following in the steps of Moon Palace in Cancú

n, Moon Palace Jamaica Grande continues to attract a diverse range of entertainment offerings. In January, international star OMI performed at the resort, while in April Shaggy was the billed performer.