NEO soul singer Mortimer is one of the headliners for ‘The Lost In Time Festival’ slated for Hope Gardens in St Andrew on Saturday.

The 29-year-old believes an event of this nature is a fillip for reggae music.

“It’s very important that we have this kind of a thing in our space. Jamaica is lacking reggae events,” he said.

Conceptualised by Protoje, The Lost In Time Festival will also feature Lila Ike, Jesse Royal, Samory I, Tessellated, Jaz Elise, Naomi Cowan, Ras-I, and YaadCore. The first act is slated to take the stage at 4:00 pm.

Mortimer shared his insight about his upcoming performance.

“On the stage it’s not about me, I just want you to hear the music and my heart’s utterings. The music is therapeutic and I have a certain reverence for it. It’s just amazing what people can do with something that’s gifted to them such as music, because it’s a privilege to be able to do music. When you look at what reggae music stands for and who did it before us, it’s an honour,” he said.

Born in Kingston but raised in the rural district of Whitehall, St Elizabeth, like most Jamaicans Mortimer began his musical journey in the church — and for him it was the Seventh-day Adventist Church where he began singing on the choir at age eight. Mortimer had dreams of becoming a soldier or an auto engineer but these aspirations soon took a back seat to music. Mortimer released his first project, Message Music, in 2014. An introduction to Jamaican recording artiste Protoje resulted in the recording of the collaboration Protection, produced by Winta James.

Mortimer called on James when he had the inspiration for Lightning.

His other songs include Warning, Nice Up The Scene, This Feeling, Careful, and Keep That Fire Lit.

The Lost In Time Festival is a family event which will also boast food and cultural items on sale.

— Brian Bonitto