Sister Nancy, Lady G, Marion Hall and Lila Iké star at Jamaica Day in Paterson
The 10th annual celebration at Eastside Park saw Sister Nancy and Lila Iké receive the Key to the City.
PATERSON, United States. Four women from different eras of Jamaican music, Sister Nancy, Lady G, Minister Marion Hall and Lila Iké, headlined the 10th annual Jamaica Day Celebration at Eastside Park in Paterson, New Jersey, on 1 August.
Dancehall icon Sister Nancy, dressed in green, black and gold, opened with “One Two” and “Ain’t No Stopping Nancy” and closed with “Bam Bam”.
“Forty-plus years into a career, she can still stop a park cold,” Jamaican-born, New York-based entertainment publicist Anthony “ER Guru” Turner told Caribbean Life.
Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh awarded Sister Nancy the Key to the City, presented by Bill McKoy, president of the Bill McKoy Foundation, which has run Jamaica Day at Eastside Park for a decade.
“Here, in Paterson, we respect you, we love you, we honour you, and we give you your flowers now,” McKoy said.
Lady G
Turner said Lady G, who came up in the 1990s writing about women’s lives, delivered a set that “played almost like a highlight reel”, with “Nuff Respect” and “Breeze Off”, her old duets with Papa San, drawing a strong reaction.
One of the biggest moments came when a 10-year-old singer joined to perform “Thank You”, the 1995 gospel record produced by Philip “Fatis” Burrell with Lady G and Chevelle Franklyn. “The crowd lost it,” Turner said.
Dancehall DJ Bruck UP added a short burst of energy with “Good Life”.
Lila Iké
Turner said Grammy-nominated singer Lila Iké’s set “felt like the bridge between everything that came before her and whatever comes next”.
She performed “Wanted”, “Thy Will”, “Second Chance”, “Good & Great” and “Where I’m Coming From”, with covers of Beres Hammond’s “Double Trouble”, Bob Andy’s “Too Experienced” and Freddie McGregor’s “Prophecy”, before closing with “I Spy”.
McKoy, presenting her Key to the City, said she “represents where reggae is headed, without losing sight of who got the genre here”.
The following day Minister Marion Hall performed and also received the Key to the City.
“Four queens of Jamaican music, each one shaping a different decade,” Turner said of the festival.
