A virtual wake for late engineer/producer Barry O’Hare is scheduled for IRIE FM’s courtyard in Ocho Rios, St Ann, this evening from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm.

However, due to restrictions brought on by COVID-19, the event will be streamed live on social media and on Zoom.

“There’ll be live performances from several artistes. Barry worked with a number of artistes. He was an important player in the music industry,” Clyde McKenzie, former general manager of IRIE FM, told the Jamaica Observer.

“I personally knew him when IRIE FM and Grove [Broadcasting Company Ltd] shared the same premises.”

The occasion will be hosted by radio personalities Andrea “Ka’Bu Ma’at Kheru” Williams and Ainsworth “Big A” Higgins.

McKenzie, a former principal of Shocking Vibes, said there will also be a panel discussion with himself, Pete Turner, and engineer Stephen Stewart.

O’Hare died at University Hospital of the West Indies, in St Andrew, on September 19. The 56-year-old had tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week.

O’Hare has worked with Third World, Steel Pulse, and Burning Spear. He was engineer for Spear’s Grammy-winning album Calling Rastafari in 2000.

Tanya Stephens, Diana King, Yami Bolo, Jack Radics, Prezident Brown, Mikey Spice, and Jahmali have also benefited from his expertise. He had also worked on sound for film and television projects, including the Disney film Sebastian and the ABC series Going to Extremes, which was shot on location in Jamaica. On the road, O’Hare was engineer for Shaggy for 10 years; he has also worked in this capacity for Sean Paul and Beres Hammond.

O’Hare’s funeral service is slated for tomorrow.

— Brian Bonitto