BIGGER AND BETTER EVENTS FROM JAMMINS ENTERTAINMENT
Marjorie Flash
Reggae Reflection Contributor
Once in a Lifetime: Singers in Action with Beres Hammond, Wayne Wonder, and Sanchez heads to Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC 8/11/2011.
In a sit down conversation with George Crooks he gave me some insight as to how this highly anticipated tour came about. “Last year we did Beres Hammond and we did Sanchez with great performances by both. But you know, I can remember in the Bronx with Sanchez we had to turn people back, and Beres had two sold out shows. So I figured I would combine the two events into one great show, and that’s what we are doing at Hammerstein this year but adding Wayne Wonder too; three of the greatest singers of all time in New York on the same stage. That’s mind blowing for me, so I’m looking forward to hearing all that from my audience.”
After a couple years of bringing two sold out Beres shows each year to BAM, George explains the reason the concert has been moved to Hammerstein Ballroom. “Hammerstein is more central and Beres wanted to get a more rock concert vibes because as we know people stand up for Beres’ concerts from the first song to the last song. Hammerstein is one of the first concerts we did for Beres, “Live at the Hammerstein”, was filmed in total surround sound. One of the best DVD’s of all times and the best selling DVD that VP Records had ever done and we really enjoyed doing that event so we really are looking forward to doing it there again.”
Tickets are selling out fast, and as George says “This is Manhattan, so you can expect a lot of special guests to come out and big up Beres. We are looking forward to seeing everybody there, it’s gonna be a crazy rock and roll show.”
George Crooks has been in the business of promoting music festivals for over 30 years ago. Asked how he got started in this business he explains, “I got started because I was going to school at University of North Florida and needed to pay my school fee, and I was on the student government so we booked Peter Tosh for a concert at the school. Then we decided to get a park and book Peter Tosh in concert and charged $1, we had 8,000 kids in the park. So we started doing concerts, we had Inner Circle, a group called Roots Uprising and even had Bette Wright on stage.” Fast-forward, Jammins Entertainment has diversified bringing R&B acts, such as the awesome concerts he did last year with The O’Jays and Patti LaBelle both sold out shows at BAM and as George informs us, “Patti LaBelle was an awesome concert, she kicked off her shoes and really got down the audience loved it. The people want to see more of these kinds of shows and I’m going to bring them.” Another area of entertainment George has branched out to is stage plays such as “Loving Him is Killing Me” which has seen huge success in New York, and Miami last year. George says “we are bringing it back to New York at the Beacon Theatre October 7 with stars like Kenny Lattimore and our own Jamaican Tyson Beckford in it.”
Another successful event presented by Jammins Entertainment is the renowned Brooklyn Music Festival. Usually put on in July, this year George dedicated his time to focus on the Beres show, but advises he anticipates that the BMF could be rescheduled for September 5th, as once the Beres event is over he will have more time to focus on it. So look out for that folks!
In the meantime, you won’t want to miss the “Singers in Action concert”, August 11, 2011 at Hammerstein Ballroom. Please go out and get your tickets before they sell out. Doors open 7pm and the show will start at 8pm sharp.
Seats can be reserved at Ticketmaster, www.ticketmaster.com or Jammins, www.tix4me.com. Visit www.jammins.com or call 718-282-8041 for further ticket purchase information.