Minister Marion Hall, formerly Lady Saw, has made it clear that she will not take to the stage for dancehall, even if it is the prestigious Reggae Sumfest. While she’s made an emphatic point of saying that she will not do dancehall, Hall has also said she’s not opposed to doing a gospel night.
The gospel minister stated her stance on the matter using the social media site Facebook last Saturday (May 21). She also revealed that the Downsound Entertainment team has been in communication with her manager, Delroy Escoffery, about finding the right compromise so that she could appear alongside the star-studded lineup.
Marion Hall‘s consternation is that she feels that she is being called upon to represent a dancehall night when she has distanced herself from the genre. However, according to the latest update on the show, there is actually no dancehall night but simply two nights called Festival Night One and Night Two.
Hall added that she felt insulted that she was called to perform because of her past life’s music and that if they really wanted her to perform, they could call on her for a dancehall gospel set. According to her, there is a gospel night, and that’s the one she would have no problem doing.
So great is Hall’s appeal that Joe Bogdanovich has revealed that he was looking into hosting a third night at Reggae Sumfest, which would have been gospel-themed. He made the comments while being interviewed by the Jamaica Gleaner recently.
Joe Bogdanovich added that while he was fully committed to making it happen, it was too short a time frame to get it done.
“We were thinking about it seriously and I had it all worked out. We were very close to doing that, but it was just too much to do in such a short period of time with us getting ourselves prepared for the six nights that we are doing; so this year we won’t be able to do that,” the Sumfest principal continued.
Even so, Joe Bogdanovich still believes that Minister Marion Hall will grace the stage of Reggae Sumfest. He still thinks that a compromise can be made, noting that “she’s as difficult to predict as Vladimir Putin.”
During her dancehall career, Marion Hall gathered up numerous accolades, one of them being the first female artiste to close Sumfest back in 2015. She was regarded as the Queen of Dancehall, a title many believe she still holds.
It was that very same year, in the ascendancy of her dancehall career, that she decided to walk a different path and gave her life over to ministry in the Christian faith. However, should a compromise be met, then she would have another first as she would become the only gospel singer to grace the stage.
The event is highly anticipated since it was impossible to host in the last two years as the pandemic raged on the island. There’s little doubt that fans who have been yearning for dancehall and live entertainment will converge on Catherine Hall, St James base, in July.
The show gets going with some power hitters in the industry, including Spice, Shenseea, Aidonia, Alkaline, Govana, Masicka, Teejay, and Intence. They will be joined by some of the upcoming stars like Skeng, Rytikal, and Jahshii when the show kicks off on July 22.
The second night of the show seems more reserved for the veterans in the game, and a more laidback vibe as Beres Hammond, Sizzla Kalonji, Dexta Daps, Koffee, Christopher Martin, and Jada Kingdom will join D’Yani, Yaksta, Nation Boss and Shaneil Muir on stage.
We’ll have to wait and see if Minister Hall makes a surprise appearance.
