Vintage Folk is the theme of this year’s concert season by the Jamaican Folk Singers which will run from September 7 to 9 at the Little Theatre in St Andrew.

According to Christene MacDonald Nevers, musical director of the 51-year-old choral group, this year’s series of concerts continues the work of founder Dr Olive Lewin.

“The 2018 concert season is a continuation of the journey of the Jamaican Folk Singers to maintain focus on sharing aspects of Jamaica’s folk music culture, presenting the songs in context to help highlight the meanings and the lessons in the songs, furthering its focus on education through entertainment. This season presents another opportunity for the group to use Jamaica’s folk music and its messages to uplift Jamaica whilst highlighting some of the values of old Jamaica, encouraging respect and understanding among people of different backgrounds..”

The concerts will be presented in five segments, each telling its own story. The opener invites patrons to ‘Come Mek We Dance An’ Sing’, and includes vintage, more popular Jamaican folk songs. The stories continue with ‘Gossip’ and ‘Market’ where stories of various characters and personalities will be told.

Towards the end the show, MacDonald Nevers noted that there will be a focus on dance forms, which include Scottish dancing and forms of Quadrille, which represent part of Jamaica’s Out Of Many, One culture.

The Jamaican Folk Singers, which was founded in 1967 by Dr Olive Lewin, has strived through the years to remain true to its mission, which includes unearthing and exposing the beauty and artistic worth of Jamaica’s folk music heritage. The Jamaican Folk Singers operates with a belief that music greatly helped Jamaican forefathers cope with the realities of their harsh living conditions without becoming excessively bitter, and believe that today it can continue to bring and hold people together.