Sandz Caribbean Music Festival gave patrons more than they bargained for Easter Sunday as Bay Beach in Ocho Rios came alive with the event’s return to the tourist town.

Lively performances from booked entertainers as well as surprise appearances by some powerhouses made up for the long lines to access the jam-packed venue. Annoyance from the struggle to get into the event was easily swept away by short but effective deliveries from the likes of Ding Dong, Aidonia, Jashii, Intence and Moyann.

While booked acts Ding Dong, Intence and Moyann put on a good show for the audience, the cameo appearances by newcomer Jashii and one of dancehall’s mainstay, Aidonia, were the main highlights of the event.

Aidonia, who hosted his birthday event in Ocho Rios on Saturday, popped up on stage to turn in a brief performance that left the crowd energised and craving more. The J.O.P leader served up songs such as Yeah Yeah, Hot Tool, Dat Easy and Banga before turning his attention to the ladies. Feeding them with selections such as Jockey and Boring Gyal among other hits, the entertainer had the Sandz ladies in a frenzy.

In the meantime, dancehall newcomer Jashii rode the wave of current chart burners such as Cream of the Crop, 25/8 and Born Fighter to have the Sandz crowd eating out of the palm of his hands. He did not perform for long but the time given was all he needed to make his mark and then some. He also turned in a duet with Moyann as they performed their collaborative effort, How We A Live.

Promoter Andrew Ellis told OBSERVER ONLINE that, with the event being the first in two years, he and his team had to ensure that the audience/artiste interaction was on point.

“Not having the ability to do live events for upwards of two years would have created a gap in the space as far as performances are concerned and so it was important for us to fill that gap. Sandz is a Caribbean experience, a dancehall experience and we really wanted to ensure that the audience had an opportunity to engage with the artistes who are essentially running the place now with the popular songs,” Ellis said. “Live entertainment and performances will be a staple of execution for us at Sandz moving forward. Not only in Jamaica but overseas as well. We want persons in the Diaspora to have an opportunity to engage with their favourite artistes at our event.”

“I think the audience appreciated all the acts equally and there’s something to be said about getting more than what you expected. We had Ding Dong, Intence and Moyann booked but we ended up having live performances from Aidonia and Jashii that I am certain people definitely appreciated given that those are two powerhouse artistes in the industry. Being able to provide that to our audience was important.”

Still, while the performances were a standout for the event promoters, Ellis admitted that his team has a lot to work on before their next staging this summer. He has assured potential patrons that negative experiences at Sunday’s staging will be improved upon for the next.

“It wasn’t a perfect execution for us as a team by any means but we think that the persons who have supported us and have been supporting us over the years, we definitely gave them a show and we are grateful for that,” he said. “We had the opportunity to present an authentic demonstration of Jamaican culture in Jamaica and it was a good look. We are definitely working on improvements and will be coming back at the end of our world tour in August.”