Reggae Radio and Concert Photos by Reggae MAX

Beres Hammond is a Reggae legend born in 1955 in the province of St. Mary in Annotto Bay, Jamaica and his Saturday night performance at Reggae Sumfest was the stuff of legends. Beres belted out his top hits and the crowd could not get enough of the Reggae Superstar with the smoky voice of a crooner.

Beres is the king of Lovers Rocks and his performance is an easy listening kinda reggae with a soulful beat and the lyrics of love and romance. I brought a trio of ladies from Negril with me to this show as they were all excited to see Beres and Tarrus perform on the same night. The ladies love his hits and crowd favorites like "Putting Up Resistance" had just about the entire crowd of 32,000 people singing along word for word as we all enjoyed a special moment in time when everyone sings away the worries of the day.

The final night of Reggae Sumfest 2008 was a wet party with a rainstorm pouring all day long had the entire field slippery with mud. The rain eventually stopped and everyone was able to enjoy the show but standing out in the crowd as I ways for this performance was a great experience for me and the friends who joined me for the last show. You could feel the powerful vibe of a crowd favorite and he fact everyone was feeling the music at the same time was awesome.

It was an inspirational performance by the entire band as we were treated a special band preview which highlighted the many talents that travel the world with the reggae legend. It's obvious that he has a great backing band and being to sample the talents of each player as he went through them was a unique experience.

Beres Hammond put on the best performance of the night with Tarrus running a close second. I think Beres had a few more fans in the older more experience crowd and the power of everyone singing together was more intense in my opinion.

Tarrus Riley is a phenomenal artist and his performance at Reggae Sumfest fell down on us like the light rain that drenched the crowd but could never run them out. The music was great and the stage show was awesome with a huge backup band and singers for a number of tunes.

Tarrus has reached greatness with his latest album Parables on VP Records and this show was his. It was obvious from the beginning that he was the crowd favorite with a lot of Tarrus Riley fans in the venue to support him. As he rang out some of his hit singles including Lions Paw and She's Royal the crowd sand along as the rain dropped on us in what seemed like a picture perfect moment if you had an underwater camera and a line of sight through the oversize umbrellas everyone had hoisted in the air.

Jah Cure had a great year in 2008 and his performance at Reggae Sunfest 2008 may well have been the peak. Jah Cure is not known for his stage shows and many had low expectations for him to be able to put on a strong performance with so much pressure.

Cure took the stage and showed them what he could do. He's not an explosive stage performer but he did a wicked job of keeping the crowd moving and his singing is up to the task. I thought Jah Cure put on an excellent show and I was left wanting for more.

His music resonates well with us ladies and he sure had his share of excited women in the crowd. I could hear all sorts of offers being lobbed at him throughout the night but the best one was the Jamaican girl who followed him to the parking lot after the whole show. She just kept walking round kinda in a daze it seemed mumbling "its you me love cure. its you me love."

Jah Cure Photos

Jah Cure Videos

Akon put on a good show at International Night for Reggae Sumfest 2008 unless of course you have seen his show before then it's kinda more of the same. He had some Mohawked DJ on stage for most of set and it got boring for a minute.

Akon is hot with the ladies and he loves to give them what they want. He's done the strip tease act here before and it went over well anyway. Akon did some crowdsuring with the help of the biggest security guard I ever saw and actually walked on top of the crowd from the stage to the lighting rig in the middle of the field where he proceeded to climb up and sing to us from 30 feet up in the air.

The performance was so broken up with noise and long waits by his promoters tossing out free clothing from his new line of club wear that it felt drawn out and boring. Maybe had I gotten a shirt I would have felt better about things.

Keyshia Cole gave an almost overwhelming performance that captivated me and the audience at Reggae Sumfest 2008 from the very beginning of her set when she started off with her hit single "Should Have Let You Go". Keyshia and her entourage of high energy dancers and backup singers put on an incredible show displaying awesome stage presence and some of the best dance choreography as she took us and the crowd through an incredible journey.

Keyshia puts her all into her music and she sang her heart out when she did "Should Have Cheated". Keyshia and crew were all over the place dancing up a storm on stage as she sang "Give It Up To Me", and then she went into a soulful mood and bonded with the ladies in her audience as she sang the love ballads "Just Like You" and "Send from Heaven". Keyshia then kicked it into gear as she belted out her most beautiful song "Lonely" in a soulful way that you just have to see. She's even better live than the cd's or radio lead you to believe.

In true powerhouse style she finished on a high note by jamming out hertwo mega hits "Last Night" and "Let It Go" bringing a wonderful performance to end with a band that the crowd truly seemed to appreciate.

Keyshia Cole Photo Gallery

Keyshia Cole Reggae Sumfest Videos

Lutan Fyah is an original rasta reggae artist with a long respected career in roots music. Born Anthony Martin in Thompson Pen, Spanish Town in the parish of St. Catherine, Jamaica, Lutan Fyah spent his his formative years in an environment where music was omnipresent. His grandfather ran a Sound System and artists such as Lt. Stitchie, Papa San and Lady G would gather in the family yard to practice and perfect their skills on the microphone. Lutan Fyah was born to perform and he has lived upto the hype ande expectations of fans from around the world.

His show at Reggae Sumfest 2008 was a hit with everyone as Lutan ripped the stage up with his rasta inspired lyrics and pounding beats. It was good to hear some real rasta music at this years Sumfest and Lutan is the man when it comes to that. His power hit Rasta Still de Bout is a great tune and listening to the crowd chant along was a great experience.