Major Lazer Kingston Jamaica

It would be hard to review such an event without first providing some level of context. In essence explaining why such a huge traveling act such as Major Lazer would make it a point of duty to embark on a yearly pilgrimage to the Caribbean and more specifically the island of Jamaica. Diplo, Major Lazer’s enigmatic front man, as it so happens has significant history with Jamaica. To point where he credits the island and the music from it with adding to his already eclectic musical ear. An ear that led to the formation of the Major Lazer music project with fellow collaborator English producer Switch, whom Diplo met while working with British/Sri Lankan act M.I.A. From its inception, Major Lazer has borrowed heavily from Caribbean music even seeking out and using acts only popular within the region. It is because of that fact and that since Switch’s departure in 2011, Diplo has sought the services of Trinidadian Jillionaire and Jamaican Walshy Fire to complete the Major Lazer lineup it would only make sense for the Diplo to call all of his close musical friends and have them follow him to land of wood and water. This being the third staging of the event in the island, patrons had some idea of what to expect but what ended up happening must have even surprised the most ardent of followers. Aided by the help of social media, the event was seemingly the place to be for the festive season. The traffic to get into the venue told its own story with paying customers waiting for up to an hour before getting their chance to mingle in the crowd surrounding the stage. The stage setup was impressive with all the lighting, fog and everything else used done with precision.

Toddla T, DJ Snake, Rudimental and Skrillex’s sets all had their individual quirks, and I am sure special production notes, which were expertly observed and handled without a hitch by the production staff. The vibe never really let up the whole night steadily building and building until reaching a crescendo with the appearance of the Major Lazer crew. And being the crowd pleasers they are, they sought the help from the likes of local acts such as: Popcaan, Chi Ching Ching and Sean Paul to bring to crowd to a frenzy before calling on the soca act Machel Montano to help to finish proceedings. By the end of the night, it was clear that not only were the people present extremely satisfied with what they just experienced but that Diplo, Major Lazer and all their friends were already looking forward to the next time they would be in front of a Jamaican audience.