While it has a growing Jamaican population, the town of Ajax in Ontario, Canada, sees little in terms of live dancehall and reggae.

Promoters Yaad Fest Inc are looking to tap into virgin territory with Yaad Fest, which takes place there on September 21.

The inaugural staging has a distinct old school flavour, with artistes from the 1990s dominating the bill. They include Nadine Sutherland, Tanto Metro and Devonte and Jigsy King who all had major success during that period.

“It’s really a family event, so we went ahead and some 90s dancehall acts. We’re really excited about doing this in Ajax, which doesn’t get a lot of reggae,” said Niyah, a director of Yaad Fest Inc.

Located in southern Ontario, Ajax has a population of over 126,000, 10 per cent of which is Jamaican. The area is close to the city of Pickering and district of Scarborough where scores of Jamaicans and West Indians have lived for over 50 years.

Tanto Metro and Devonte are best known in Canada for Everyone Falls in Love, their much sampled hit single from 1997 which peaked at #6 in that country’s national chart. Three years earlier, Nadine Sutherland and Terror Fabulous had a strong seller with
Action, which reached #43 on Billboard Magazine’s Hot 100 chart.

Courtney Melody, Canadian acts Burgz, Jellytoofly, Bugatti Bonsu and Atlanta-based Jamaican deejay Patexx, are also on Yaad Fest.