NEW YORK – With dancehall kings Yellowman and Beenieman already confirmed as headline performers at the award winning Irie Jamboree music festival, the challenge for the promoters was to choose a female artiste – a queen – that could represent for the ladies. The alluring and talented Alison Hinds, the “Queen of Soca” was the unanimous choice.
“Once we added Beenieman and Yellowman to the line up, we knew we needed a female performer who had a strong presence on stage, who has a strong fan base and who could represent for the ladies. Allison Hinds had all the qualities we were looking for and a whole lot more to offer” Bobby Clarke, one of the principals of Irie Jamboree Inc. said.
Alison is no stranger to the limelight. The sexy, sassy and sophisticated singer began her reign as lead vocalist of the popular Square One Band and what a fantastic journey it was for her. She quickly made her mark with “Raggamuffin” and “In the Meantime,” which earned her the Road-march and Party Monarch titles for two consecutive years. On stage, she honed her skills and developed a loyal fan base touring the Caribbean, North/South America, Africa and Europe. After taking the band to the top of the charts, she took a brief sojourn to start a family and give birth to her daughter.
The british born, Barbadian bombshell re-emerged on a remix of Kevin Lyttle’s “Turn Me On” which became a massive worldwide hit. The success of the track paved the way for her to launch her solo career with the smash anthem “Roll It Gal,” taken from her debut album ‘Soca Queen.’ “Roll it Gal” shot to the top of the charts in the Caribbean almost instantly and garnered airplay on urban stations across the US. The video stayed at the #1 position for ten (10) weeks on TEMPO and enjoyed heavy rotation on video channels around the globe. Hinds will join Coco Tea, Sizzla, Elephant Man and rising reggae stars Serani, Bugle, DeMarco, Tanya Mullings, Little Hero and Elvis D as confirmed acts on Irie Jamboree which takes place on Labor Day, Sunday, August 31, 2008 at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens, NY.
Earlier this month, the executive team travelled to Toronto, Canada to get the word out to music lovers at the Caribana celebrations.
“The launch events in Toronto and Jamaica were extremely successful. The trip to Canada in particular was very productive, so much so that we have started to run promo ads on a few radio stations there to encourage our neighbors to visit Irie Jamboree while they are in town for the Labor Day weekend festivities” Clarke noted.
The official New York launch party will be held at Club Element in Manhattan on Thursday, August 21, 2008. For more information log on to www.iriejamboree.com or call 1-888-IRIE-NYC for updates.
