NYC Ska Orchestra draws biggest Bryant Park crowd as Jamaica names 2026 festival song
The 20-piece ensemble honoured Skatalites legends in Manhattan, while dBurnz won Jamaica's Festival Song Competition ahead of Emancipendence.
NEW YORK, United States. A free Carnegie Hall concert by the NYC Ska Orchestra at Manhattan's Bryant Park on Friday, July 24, drew what series representative Wendy Magro called "the biggest crowd yet".
The 20-piece ensemble, led by veteran St Louis trumpeter Kevin Batchelor, blends the Jamaican styles of mento, ska, rocksteady and reggae with New York standards.
Veterans of reggae
Batchelor first toasted Larry McDonald, an 89-year-old percussionist and singer renowned for playing with reggae greats, and then Montego Bay master drummer Carl Wright, who has also backed several reggae legends. Throughout the evening he shared background on the Skatalites, the 1960s pioneers of Caribbean jazz.
The set mixed songs by Barbra Streisand, Brook Benton, Johnny Nash and Sun Ra with Jamaican ska hits. A high point came with "Man in the Street", in salute of Don Drummond.
The orchestra also honoured Phyllis Dillon, who died in 2004 aged 59, with Pallavi Gummalam reimagining "Don't Stay Away", and paid tribute to Cuban-born Skatalites saxophonist Roland Alphonso, who died in 1998 aged 67.
The concert was the group's last engagement of the season.
Jamaica's festival song
In Kingston, the 2026 Jamaica Festival Song Competition winner was announced on July 25. Melbourne Douglas, known as dBurnz, from the parish of Clarendon, took the trophy with "I Love Jamaica", winning a total of J$3 million, including J$200,000 for best performing artist.
Music teacher Ovando Levy came second with "Jamaica School Bling (Bingi Ling)", earning J$600,000, while Aba Jones placed third with "Teet A Fi Me" and received J$300,000. Nine finalists competed.
"Even if your song is not the winning song, you are still a winner," said Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport.
Emancipendence
This year's Emancipendence theme is "United in Celebration". The celebrations, combining Emancipation and Independence, run from August 1 to August 6, the date Jamaica gained independence from Britain in 1962.
The week will open with a salute to the 1834 end of slavery, with midnight jubilees at historic sites. Although 1834 is the official year of emancipation in Jamaica, full freedom was not granted until 1838.
