Marcia Griffiths, Valiant, Jada Kingdom, Edwin Yearwood to headline Labor Day Sunday Caribbean Music Festival in Queens

Labor Day Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, will be extra special with the return of the Oracabessa Caribbean Music festival slated for Roy Wilkins Park in Queens.

The festival, which was last held in 2018, will be headlined by Reggae Queens Marcia Griffiths, Louie Culture, Jada Kingdom, Terry Linen, Lady G, Ras Emmanuel and Mr. Easy,  alongside soca stars Patrice Roberts and Edwin Yearwood.

Jada Kingdom. Photo by Anthony Turner

Syntyche “Syn” Clarke, event director of the Oracabessa Festival, told Caribbean Life on Tuesday that part of the mission of the festival is uniting Caribbean voices in the Diaspora.

“In a groundbreaking venture, Irie Jam’s CaribStar Radio 103.5FM HD3 (an iHeart radio) has joined forces with RoadBlock Radio, 101.1FM HD3 (an Audacy radio station) to stage the Caribbean festival,” he said. “This collaboration marks the first of its kind ever in the history of Caribbean media in New York.

“Our extensive experience in live event production in the New York Tri-State area producing successful events, such as Irie Jamboree, Celebrity Soccer Match and Irie Fashion Rave, has allowed us to enhance our strategy to now present an elevated music festival celebrating Caribbean culture, food, arts, traditions and music,” added Clarke, singling out Marcia Griffiths as having “achieved a lot during her decorated career.”

“Griffiths is an original member of I-Three that toured the world with Reggae King Bob Marley and his Wailers band,” he continued. “She has garnered international notoriety with the Electric Slide line dance. The song reached number 51 on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it Griffiths’ most successful single and one the biggest selling songs by a female reggae artist.”

Clarke noted that dancehall star Jada Kingdom has been “trending” stateside for many years, stating that the “singjay” first garnered attention for an appearance on Sean Kingston’s “One Way” music video.

Since then, Clarke said she has blazed a musical trail with “Love Situations” that was viewed millions of times.

He said other popular songs followed, including “Wasteman”, “Banana” and “Heavy”, which are among her biggest hits to date, while “GPP” and “Feelings” with D’Yani have racked up close to 10 million views on YouTube.

Joining the Reggae Queen on stage will be “Fully Dunce” artist Valiant, known for hits like “Mad Out”, “Dunce Cheque” and “Siance.”

After an absence of more than a decade from the NYC outdoor stage, reggae crooner Terry Linen, who shot to fame with a scintillating cover of “Your Love Is My Love” by Whitney Houston, is set to return to New York City on Labor Day Sunday.

Clarke said the singer is expected to woo fans with “Money Games,” “Goodness of God” and “Just Say Yes.”

Clarke also said that “a lot is expected” from New Jersey-based reggae artiste Ras Emmanuel, who is riding high with his new VPAL album titled “Dancehall Forever.”

The 20-song-disc blends contemporary reggae with ’90s dancehall sounds and boasts collaborators Jigsy King, Lushy Banton, Louie Culture and Terry Ganzie.