Festival Song Entries to Be Submitted By Nov. 27
By: , November 9, 2015The Key Point:
The Facts
- Entry forms and guidelines are available on the JCDC website, www.jcdc.gov.jm; its head office at 3-5 Phoenix Avenue, Kingston 10; and all JCDC parish offices island-wide.
- Events Coordinator for the Festival Song Competition, Glendon Watson told JIS News that adequate time is needed to select the songs and the top 10 finalists, noting that the national finals will be held on May 28, 2016.
The Full Story
The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) is reminding songwriters and performers, to submit their entries for the 2016 Festival Song Competition by the deadline of Friday, November 27.
Entry forms and guidelines are available on the JCDC website, www.jcdc.gov.jm; its head office at 3-5 Phoenix Avenue, Kingston 10; and all JCDC parish offices island-wide.
Events Coordinator for the Festival Song Competition, Glendon Watson told JIS News that adequate time is needed to select the songs and the top 10 finalists, noting that the national finals will be held on May 28, 2016.
He said the finalists also need time to prepare for the 2016 Festival launch, which is expected to be in June next year.
“We want to give the festival song more air time, so that people could be familiar with the song, so come August, during the height of the celebration, people will already know the Festival song and be very familiar with it,” he said.
Mr. Watson stated that next year will be the 50th anniversary of the competition, which began in 1966.
“We are anticipating a great 50th anniversary celebration of the top song,” he said, adding that the JCDC will host a festival song showcase, including a family fun day in each parish to promote the song.
He said that the first show, which will begin on April 22 in St Thomas, will be held each weekend in different parishes before the staging of the national finals.
After the deadline date, about 30 songs will be assessed and then submitted for the semi-finals.
“The semi-finals will happen somewhere between February and March, so in April we will have the 10 songs selected and ready to go on the road,” he said.
Mr. Watson is encouraging all singers and songwriters to get involved in this year’s competition.
He said the songs to be submitted must seek to uplift the country and warned that they should not be discriminatory, but should contain lyrics that are “clean, something Jamaican and something that is family oriented and capture the Jamaican spirit.”