It might not have been the massive crowd that the annual gospel event has been known to pull over the last 25 years, but the faithfuls who turned out on Saturday for this year’s staging of the Jamaica Youth For Christ’s mega festival and fun day, Genesis, were spiritually energised by the ministry of the impressive line-up of artistes.

There was something for everyone as lovers of the good ‘ole time’ gospel had their hand-clapping, foot-stamping moments, while the young and young at heart got their praise on to the sounds of the vibrant reggae gospel performances. The latest reggae dance moves were just as evident on stage as it was in the audience as patrons abandoned their seats to move to the beat.

The Kingston leg of the festival which is normally held at the National Stadium car park was relocated to the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre this year, where it was evident that the event was staged on a modified budget. There was no beautifully decorated stage as is the norm at the annual event, instead the original platform at the cultural venue was utilised and this unfortunately did not provide the best of views for some patrons.

But despite the shortcomings in the physical set-up, Genesis proved once again that it was not just another entertainment event, but a time for worship.

The show which was scheduled to start at 3:00pm, was forced to be kept very tight as the organisers had to observe the Noise Abatement Act, which was strictly enforced by the police this year for both the Montego Bay and Mandeville staging of the event.

This was however disappointing for many patrons and understandably so since some of the artists were only able to perform two songs before they were given the wrap up signal, cutting the worship atmosphere in mid-air.

Although some of the most notable names in gospel music and almost a yearly staple at Genesis were absent from this years event, nonetheless there was an impressive line-up of performers whose performances met the expectations of the patrons.

With each performer bringing their own style of worship and energy to the show, it would be almost unfair to say who did well and who didn’t.

However, there were some notable performances which were better received by the audience.

Among the performances which stood out was Chosen Vessel, which some described as the local version of the Kirk Franklin group. Lead performer Christopher Johnson whipped the audience into a praise frenzy, forcing them to vacate their seats and to sing along to songs such as Speak Over Yourself and Imagine Me.

When Jermaine Edwards took the stage beginning with a repertoire of ‘ole time’ gospel before moving into worship songs, this transformed the cultural venue into a spirit filled atmosphere, with patrons jumping and waving prayer cloths.

His performance paved the way for Kevin Downswell who walked through the audience stopping to sing to patrons as he made his way to the stage belting out the words to Your Change Is Coming. His brief stint on the stage which left the patrons clamouring for more consist of moments of soulful worship and at other times up tempo praise.

This praise was carried over to Lubert Levy performance as he delved into a repertoire of ole time medley, further transforming the atmosphere into one of jubilation. But unfortunately his stint was also cut short leaving the audience wanting for more.

Again the mood was changed as Mr Gallimore entered the stage with his group of energetic dancers to complement his reggae performance.

At minutes to midnight there was a stir as patrons rushed towards the stage to get more of DJ Nicholas who closed the performance segment on what was again another soul stirring staging of Genesis. Before doing some songs from his new album, DJ Nicholas had to perform, some crowd favourites like Back to the Owner and Holy Ghost Church. But, it was his song Cut it Off which again showed just how lyrically talented he is at reaching Christians with the message.

Other performers of the night include Sons of the Prophet (SOP), JLee, Sapphire, Garfield Reid, Ryan Berry, JDOT, SDON, Dunamis, Denise Williams among others.