Entertainment Features News Hennessy Artistry delivers after two-year break Barbados Today07/12/20220175 views Ashanti seen here fully decked out in the island's national colours. By Shamar Blunt After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hennessy Artistry was back with a bang this year, with promoters reporting an overwhelming response from patrons who flocked in their numbers to Kensington Oval last Saturday. The star-studded lineup included Jamaican artists Skeng, Jashii, Richie Spice, Mavado, and Sizzla, American songbird and Grammy-winning R&B artiste Ashanti, as well as local acts Brutal Crankstar and T-Ray, formerly of Cover Drive. The standouts for the night included Sizzla and Ashanti. Richie Spice performing with Soca Queen Allison Hinds. The Jamaican reggae artist brought his usual high energy onstage, performing endless hits, much to the satisfaction of patrons. Though Ashanti’s set was painfully short, she gave her fans exactly what they wanted to hear. Donned from head to toe in Barbados’ national colours, she delivered many of her main hits which the densely-packed crowd enjoyed to the fullest. Sizzla had an impressive set during the night. Allison Hunte, director of FAS7Star, promoters of the three-day festival which included events on Friday and Sunday, told the media that the success of the Artistry weekend was comforting after the two-year break. Jashii’s first time performing in Barbados was a memorable one. “It’s an overwhelming feeling when you have been dormant for [almost] three years to have that level of support and commitment by partners, patrons, and talent,” she said. Movado “We had a successful Taste of Artistry on Friday night, an amazing Hennessy Artistry at Kensington Oval on Saturday, and the beach turnout and event were seamless at Artistry Beach. So, it was an amazing success overall.” Brutal Crankstar Despite security concerns ahead of the shows, due to shootings in various parts of the island over the last several weeks, Hunte stressed that the weekend’s events were “incident-free”. T-Ray FAS7Star vehemently denied a previous media report that a shooting occurred on Artistry Beach at Carlisle Bay on Sunday. “FAS7STAR Inc. would like to make it abundantly clear that Sunday’s shooting incident in a car park at Browne’s Beach, St Michael was not connected to the Hennessy Artistry on the Beach event nor even remotely close to the venue for Hennessy Artistry on the Beach which occurred more than a mile away,” it said. (SB) Kensington Oval was almost full to capacity for the 2022 return of the show.