The 10th anniversary celebration of the Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival New York returns to the event roster this July 31 with reggae acts Protoje, Lila Iké, Romain Virgo, Christopher Martin, and Laa Lee as headliners.

The Roy Wilkins Park in Queens, New York, will play host to the event, which also forms part of Jamaica’s 60th Independence celebrations in the Big Apple.

The organisers are pleased with this year’s line-up, noting that Protoje has included the festival as one of the stops of his 2022 summer tour. This is also a stop for his artiste Lila Ike, who has been making a name for herself thanks to popular tracks such as Biggest Fan, Second Chance and I Spy. The organisers further note that the reggae audience in and around Queens are eager to experience the performances by the artistes.

Upcoming dancehall star Laa Lee will have fans moving to his uptempo, make-you-move song Bong Bing which features fellow rising sensation Cristale. His other singles are Bird and Tip Inna It.

A special feature of this year’s entertainment package is the performance of singers Romain Virgo and Christopher Martin. Both are past winners of the locally televised talent show Digicel Rising Stars and have gone on to make a name for themselves in both the local and international arenas. Both crooners have been blending their voices and talent in combined performances known as Singers in Action. For the Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival, with an established catalogue of hit records between them, the duo is prepared to go song for song on stage while engaging fans to determine which singer made them move the most.

Local act Nigy Boy will make his jerk festival debut. His performance at the Taste of Jerk event launch started the call for him to appear on the festival roster. Platinum Kids, one of New York’s most energetic and requested selectors, will entertain in their inimitable style.

In addition to the music and food. The festival will also feature a kids zone, which the organisers note will be buzzing with fun activities for the young ones, such as educational and brain-teasing puzzles, traditional ring games as well as face painting and art.