Veteran reggae artiste Richie Spice showed great professionalism and poise to deliver an emotionally-charged performance in spite of an electrical malfunction that disabled the lights and sound, just five minutes into his set at Rebel Salute on Saturday.

The sudden power outage would have distracted and confused less confident artistes. Unperturbed, the singer launched into a soulful version of his powerful hit song Earth a Run Red while the crowd harmonized enthusiastically.

It was a touchstone moment for the Rebel Salute crowd who showed their appreciation for Richie Spice’s enthusiasm and grit by blowing vuvuzelas and singing along word for word. When the lights came on six minutes later, there was a huge immediate roar from the crowd.

Energized by the moment, Richie Spice spiked the temperature to new highs inside the Plantation Cove venue with an emotional rendition of Crying Out for Love that whipped the crowd into a frenzy. Members of the audience cheered and waved their phone lights, creating a visual spectacle as they showed their appreciation for the song.

Richie Spice called up his brother, fellow artiste Snatcher Lion to do It Nuh Pretty, and then introduced Karban, a new member of the Fifth Element crew, to do a song dubbed Unconquerable.

Richie Spice closed his set powerfully with his big hit songs like Marijuana and Plane Land.

After he exited the stage, the emcee asked Spice to return to the stage, where he gave the singer plaudits for his exemplary professionalism during the power outage, noting that some ego-driven artistes may have walked off the stage.

The audience agreed with the emcee’s assessment and registered their love with thunderous applause.