Fab 5, a popular, award-winning band from Jamaica whose repertoire represents the music of the Caribbean, will be headlining the performers at this year’s Clermont Caribbean Jerk Festival at Clermont’s Waterfront Park on Saturday, May 4.
“Their reggae and soca performances have dancers and partygoers all over the Caribbean dancing and partying well into the night,” said Stuart Wilson, president of the Caribbean American Association of Lake County, hosts of the annual festival. “Their versatility and musical skills enable them to entertain crowds with R&B, funk, gospel, jazz, and disco.”
Fab 5, formed in 1970, is Jamaica’s preeminent popular band, whether measured by record sales at home, hits on the charts, frequency of engagements, or major awards won over the years. The band has enjoyed an endless succession of hits in Jamaica, the Caribbean, Central America and the “ethnic” markets of North America. In their early years, such songs as “Chirpy Cheep,” “Shaving Cream,” “Oh, Dad” and “Love Me For A Reason,” along with their musicality and showmanship, made Fab 5 the rage on the dance and show circuits. They have been the chosen band for almost every national and state occasion since the mid-1970s in Jamaica, and, in 2003, they received the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in the performing arts for its services to Jamaican music. In 2015 they were given an award, too, for their contribution to Jamaican music by the Ministry of Culture.
The popular annual Clermont food and music festival has been bringing the Caribbean to Central Florida every summer for the past seven years. This year’s festival features the music of Fab 5 along with the popular Guyanese star, Terry Gajraj, and a Jamaican-born favorite, Tory Wynter.
The festival’s early days developed around the taste of Caribbean foods. There are lots of opportunities for vendors to sell the eponymous Jamaican Jerked chicken and pork, Southern-style barbecue, oxtail, spicy roti wraps, and delectable desserts.
The Caribbean Jerk Festival is a major fundraiser for the Caribbean American Association of Lake County’s scholarship program that supports youngsters going off to vocational, technical, and community colleges as well as universities.
The Caribbean American Association of Lake County takes education seriously by actively serving the young people in our community by providing scholarships and mentoring while developing its cultural diversity. For more information, or to purchase advance tickets to this year’s Clermont Caribbean Jerk Festival held on May 4th at Clermont’s Waterfront Park, phone 352-978-0813, email CAALC@live.com, or visit www.CAALC-FL.org.
