Jackie Jackson Headlines Mother's Day Dinner and Live Show in Montego Bay

Reggae bass guitarist Jackie Jackson, long linked with Jamaican music greats such as producers Duke Reid and Leslie Kong and singers Toots Hibbert and Jimmy Cliff, will take the stage at Day O Plantation Restaurant and Bar on May 10 for the Mother's Day Dinner & Live Show. The performance will double as a tribute to his late mother, Viola Robinson, whose influence he says shaped his life and career.

"My mother was born in Havana, Cuba, and eventually moved to Jamaica. She was also musically gifted. God and my mother are responsible for who I am today," Jackson said. "I was very close with her. She was not only my mom, she was my dad, friend, and my go-to for everything."

Jackson will be joined on stage by his daughter Courtni, a vocalist in her own right, along with singer Billy Joe Neil and steel pan player Cabot Paul.

The event is part of a broader push to bring live entertainment back to Montego Bay, St James, one of the parishes that bore the brunt of Hurricane Melissa in October last year. The Category 5 storm forced the organisers of Reggae Sumfest to relocate the festival from its longtime venue at Catherine Hall to Plantation Cove in St Ann.

"Montego Bay is still recovering from the passage of Hurricane Melissa. I believe that by December 15, the peak of the winter tourist season, Montego Bay will return to being a vibrant city, buzzing with demand for artistes and musicians," Jackson said.

With more than four decades fronting bands across hotels and clubs in the resort city, Jackson is a fixture of the local live circuit. He also spent over 50 years with Toots and the Maytals, contributing bass lines to landmark tracks including Funky Kingston and Sweet And Dandy.