The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), an agency of the Ministry of Youth and Culture, is now accepting entries for the 2016 Jamaica Festival Song Competition. The Competition will seek to select a song to drive the Independence Celebrations and entries should encapsulate the Jamaican spirit, generate public interest and patriotism and provide a musical backdrop to next year’s Independence celebration. The deadline for entry is Monday, November 30, 2015 and entry forms and guidelines are available on the JCDC website: www.jcdc.gov.jm and all the JCDC Parish offices island-wide.

Festival Song Competition Coordinator, Glendon Watson, noted that “The winning song should primarily capture the spirit and the essence of the festivities and be popular with the people with the quality to live on beyond the Independence period.” He continued, “The songs submitted should be inspirational, uplifting and catchy in lyrics and have an upbeat rhythm from any of the genres of Jamaican Music.”

Entry forms should be submitted to the JCDC Head Office at 3-5 Phoenix Avenue, Kingston 10, or any of the parish offices islandwide. Entries must include a completed application form with an original signature, a non-refundable entry fee of J$1000, typed lyric sheets and a CD containing the song. The duration of the song should be no more than four minutes. The competition is open to Jamaican citizens and all other persons residing in Jamaica for a period of not less than two years prior to the closing date of entry in the competition.

Since its inception, the Jamaica Festival Song Competition has been a musical platform for cultural exposition and for entrants to make an indelible mark on Jamaica and the world. Some of the past winners include: Toots and the Maytals, Desmond Decker, Eric Donaldson, Roy Rayon and Stanley Beckford.

Author