Robert Russell - Janet Silvera

Sumfest organisers are still basking in the glow of what they believe was one of the best Reggae Sumfest festivals.

The 18th staging of the event ended with a bang last Saturday night with R&B superstar Usher who gave the crowd a long and satisfying performance alongside fellow R&B crooner Chris Brown, who delighted the crowd on the night before. Chairman of Summerfest Productions, Robert Russell, told THE STAR yesterday that despite the rain that fell throughout the weekend, it was one of the best Sumfest's ever.

He said, "our two headline acts (Usher and Chris Brown) really performed fantastically well. They did wonderful sets, they really made the festival what it was."

braving the rain

He further said: "If there was sunshine for that weekend, it would have been one of the best Sumfests ever. It really shows you how good it was and a credit to the festival and its performers that, despite the rain, people were willing to turn out and brave the experience."

Still tallying the number of patrons who attended the event, Russell said that Friday night got the lowest attendance due to the rain that fell throughout most of the night. One of the downfalls of the event was the muddy venue that Russell said they did their best to stop. He said, however, that they plan to implement measures to prevent that from happening again next year.

Another strong point of the festival for Russell was dancehall night that took place last Thursday. According to Russell, persons such as Vybz Kartel, Assassin and others gave excellent performances. He said, "what was a significant dancehall night was that there were no expletives used on stage. There was also no artistes cursing each other, which has been done before. It was very positive and praising; and this is a positive vibration for the music and the festival."