Gospel reggae artiste Jozee wowed a packed audience of gospel fans at the Vintage Sonfest show held at the UWI Graduation Tent in Barbados over the weekend.
The event brought together generations of gospel lovers for an electrifying evening of praise, worship and divinely inspired joy.
Dressed in a gorgeous purple, fuchsia, green and yellow outfit, Jozee immediately energized the audience with her opening number, ‘Jesus is the Answer’. She segued into ‘Dancing like King David’ where her voice soared through the air and stretched towards the heavens.
As she belted out the chords, eyes closed in worship and voices raised in thunderous hallelujahs as her confidence only grew with each rising decibel.
Jozee got a major ovation with ‘Won’t Last a Day’ and then closed strongly with ‘Oh Me Oh My’. The band itself, animated by Jozee’s energy, played the Diwali riddim with verve and flair. The keyboardist, in particular, brought the song to life with Middle Eastern string lines. And as the riddim filled the air, there was dancing. Lots and lots of dancing.
“Everybody was up dancing with their arms up in the air, it was marvelous,” she said.
Jozee admitted that she had initially been worried about her performance.
“It was an amazing experience. There were five singers up there with me, and I didn’t have to do much in terms of vocal work, so that allowed me to get more involved with the audience and let them worship,” she said.
She particularly liked working with a band, instead of just tracks. Young and old danced, clapped and lifted their hands, turning the concert into an experience that was as much about participation as performance.
“It was a lot of fun,” she said.
Other artistes on the show include Prodigal Son, Junior Tucker, Jozee, Shepherd, Jude Clarke (Barbados), Sherry Ann Maughan (Trinidad and Tobago) and James Leacock (Barbados).
Jozee enjoyed ministering to the throng of cheering gospel-lovers.
“There’s ministry going on here. I want to serve, I just want to go into the schools and reach the hearts of our young generation,” she said.
She praised the album which was produced by dancehall great Danny Browne.
“The song are gaining traction daily; everyday, there are people who are coming on board,” she said.
She listed disc jockeys like Dj Mickey (Trinidad), DJ Grace (St. Lucia), Dave Paul and Keziah Job UGN (UK), DJ Proclaima, (UK), DJ AB (UK) and DJ Lizzerz (Edge FM Jamaica) for being supportive of her music.
“And DJ Rebirth from Love FM promised to play my album this week. I have never had that kind of response ever, I have never been embraced so I am so grateful,” she said.
The event, hosted by Kingdom Culture International under the theme Lifting Up the Name of Jesus, definitely delivered on its promise to unite generations through gospel music.
