But for spot dates on shows like Best Of The Best, it has been some time since Beres Hammond did an extended tour. The lovers rock king hits the road next month for dates in Europe and the United States.

Hammond actually kicks off his tour on Saturday at Reggae Sumfest in Catherine Hall, Montego Bay. He heads to Europe next week where he is one of the headliners (on August 5) for Reggae Geel in Belgium.

The singer’s next stop is the United States where his dates are scheduled for the East Coast, Virginia, Georgia, and Florida which have been his strongest markets for many years.

Hammond’s US tour starts August 12 at College Street Music Hall in New Haven, Connecticut. On the 13th and 14th, he plays New Jersey Performing Arts Center and Coney Island Amphitheater in New Jersey and New York, respectively.

His remaining dates on the East Coast are also in August. These take place in Medford, Massachusetts, Ardmore and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

He and his Harmony House Band head south to Norfolk, Virginia, and Atlanta, Georgia, before closing the tour in early September with three shows in Florida (two in Fort Lauderdale and the other in Orlando).

Hammond’s catalogue is laced with easy-listening songs like One Step Ahead, Rockaway, They Gonna Talk, and I Feel Good, which have made him a favourite in major US cities where there are large Jamaican and West Indian populations.

In May, he was one of the headliners for Best Of The Best at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami.

— Howard Campbell