KINGSTON, Jamaica — As MECA Nightclub in Marketplace continues to cement its place as one of the hottest party spots in the corporate area, its owners have partnered with one of dancehall’s nightclub veterans to launch an event series aimed at bridging the gap between the dancehall energies of past and present.

In a release over the weekend, Chief Executive Officer and Principal of MECA, Michael Dawson, announced the partnership with Earl ‘Fada Earl’ Samuels, former manager of the Cactus and Asylum nightclubs. Dawson described the collaboration as a bid to bring about much-needed “unity between veterans and today’s generation of artistes.”

Cactus and Asylum were, in different eras, two of Kingston’s most popular nightclubs. According to Dawson, the best way to foster the kind of synergy he envisions for today’s live entertainment scene was to connect with Fada Earl.

“We want unity in dancehall. That is the overall motive. There has been some tension over the years between the current generation of artistes and the founding fathers of music. In my opinion, dancehall gets enough fight from outside forces, so it doesn’t make sense for us in the business to fight each other because only the haters of dancehall win in that scenario,” he said.

“MECA has been doing extremely well on the nightlife scene. Over the past few years, not only have we hosted some of the biggest international celebrities, but we have also staged some of the biggest weekly events the corporate area has seen. So, for this latest venture, we decided that a MECA meets Cactus kind of vibe would be perfect to carry on our legacy of quality entertainment. The event series will be for those who really love and care about this genre.”

MECA Meets Cactus will be held every Tuesday night and will feature music from the 90s to the present.

The first staging of the event will be held on Tuesday, July 30, and will be a memorial of sorts for Pinky, the sister of former dancehall Queen Carlene, who passed away from cancer in 2023.