THEMES of love and unity, as well as references to Monday’s sentencing of Ninjaman, dotted performances at this year’s staging of annual free concert Ghetto Splash held at the Waterhouse Mini Stadium on Wednesday night.

The event — which serves Waterhouse, Drewsland and surrounding Corporate Area communities — was awash with dancehall fraternity’s top tier has become a hallmark.

Wednesday’s event was geared towards bringing peace to the communities which have seen an increase in violence in recent weeks. The event, which ran in the region of 10 hours, was incident-free.

Organiser Patrick Roberts and his team inserted a gospel segment into the thick of things. Unfortunately, at midnight, the park was scanty and many missed strong performances from the likes of Rondell Positive and Jermaine Edwards.

There was a lull in the flow following these spirited performers as emerging acts from the communities flooded the stage.

By 2:00 am, things began to look promising as Luciano was given the microphone and proceeded to deliver a string of his hits. He was joined by Mikey General. They both proved to be quite entertaining.

Another veteran, Peter Metro, showed his experience and was able to get the audience going, even taking a jab at Opposition Leader, Dr Peter Phillips who was in the house.

A number of other strong and impressive sets dotted the night.

Among them was Nesbeth, who, in addition, to doing the songs he is known for, threw out a charge to his fellow artistes in an obvious reference to Ninjaman’s recent sentencing.

“Whole heap a man a move like dem nuh waan stay a road… A do things wah gonna keep dem off a road. We need fi stay a road,” he said.

Iba Mahr, Tarrus Riley, Jesse Royal and Lanz ignited the place with a strong combined set. The last, who is known for She Nah Leggo, did not want to leave the stage.

Capleton, as usual, managed to inject energy into tiring patrons at 4:00 am, paving the way for Agent Sasco, Beenie Man, Wayne J, and Shane O.

Just when you thought Beenie Man’s set had taken the last drop of energy from those gathered, the event’s final two performers sent them into overdrive.

Tommy Lee Sparta and then Aidonia brought their individual brands to bear on their performances and the audience loved every minute.