Shaggy & Friends Concert Rescheduled To January 2012

Shaggy and Friends, the annual charity concert held by Grammy-winning Dancehall/Reggae artiste, Shaggy, has been rescheduled to January as a result of the upcoming general elections in Jamaica.

On December 4, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced that general elections will commence on December 29, the day before Shaggy and Friends was originally scheduled (December 30). As a result, promoters of Shaggy and Friends moved the show’s date to January 7th on the lawns of Jamaica House in Kingston.

The change of date drastically affects the lineup card as internationally-renowned R&B singer, Ne-Yo leads the list of casualties who won’t be able to perform at the event. Grammy-winning Reggae artiste, Stephen Marley, veteran songstress, Deniece Williams as well as prominent soca couple, Bunji Garlin and Fay-Ann Lyons also won’t make the concert given the change of date.

However, former Fugees star and R&B legend, Lauryn Hill remains the headliner for Shaggy and Friends along with British Reggae singer, Maxi Priest. 

Local acts scheduled to perform at the event include Assassin, Romain Virgo, Tami Chynn, Wayne Marshall, Half Pint, Coco Tea and Chino.

This will hail as the first Shaggy and Friends concert to take place since January 2, 2010. The annual concert was initially staged in 2009; aiming to raise funds for the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston. The previous two editions of Shaggy and Friends raised over JA$57 million for the hospital and proceeds for next year’s show will go towards the construction of a 15-bed intensive care cardiac unit at the hospital.