The YouYube posting of Sunday night’s (February 28) Beres Hammond concert, Love From A Distance has fans re-watching the two-hour presentation which, is nearing 1 million views in its first week. The concert, which posted the largest live-streaming numbers from the VP YouTube channel (over 100,00 in concurrent audience), achieved the #2 Trending spot on YouTube’s LIVE page. Social media engagement was also at a high, with the term “Beres Hammond” trending #8 on Twitter on Sunday night. During his performance, Hammond shared that his “almost two years” off the touring circuit and away from fans “hurt,” and the occasion of Reggae Month in Jamaica presented the timing and opportunity to connect with fans again, albeit virtually.
Facebook and VP YouTube live chat Sunday night highlighted the fan appreciation and pent-up demand for this first-class reggae performance, with more than 130,000 concurrent attendees on the live stream presentation. The 90-minute concert was a parade of hits by the crooner, who’s celebrating a career spanning over forty years. Special guest performances from Marcia Griffiths, Buju Banton and Popcaan underscored the timeless quality of the Beres Hammond stage show and cemented for many that they were witnessing the best in the business..
“The engagement from fans throughout the week and especially Sunday night, was a real joy to witness,” said Christopher Chin, executive producer of the event and CEO of VP Records, “this was a moment of pride that everyone could share.”
The broadcast was produced through a partnership with Harmony House Music, VP Records and Frame By Frame Productions, in association with the Reggae Month Secretariat in Jamaica’s Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport. Minister Olivia “Babsy” Grange, who herself was a part of the VIP Zoom party viewing the Concert online, had nothing but praise for Beres. “Jamaica is truly indebted to all our artistes and their support teams for giving so generously of their talent and services to make Reggae Month 2021 a resounding success. When the likes of Beres Hammond steps forward in this way, you know we are doing something right. This kind of collaboration is good for the music and Jamaica, and his inspirational and uplifting performance was just what the country needed at this time”.
