Young stars set Livewire ablaze

Dancehall's new generation of hitmakers -- Nhance, 10Tik, and Armanii -- turned up the heat at Appleton Estate's Livewire concert last Thursday, and left no doubt that the future of live performance is in powerful hands.

The fifth staging of concert series, held at Usain Bolt's Tracks and Records in Kingston, was pure musical fireworks from start to finish.

The night kicked off with Di Unit Sound System thumping out crowd favourites, but once the Ruff Kutt Band struck their first note at 11:15 p.m., the venue morphed into a pulsating sea of lights, lyrics, and energy.

Opening the live band segment, 10Tik teased the crowd in with conscious selections that showcased his versatility before flipping the script with a surprising, emotional twist -- a reggae-flavoured rendition of Adele's Someone Like You.

Moments later, the vibe shifted hard as the deejay unleashed fan-favourite street anthems Gangsta and Pick Yuh Side. Male fans responded in classic dancehall fashion -- firing blanks in approval. But when Roll Deep dropped, the entire venue erupted. Patrons jumped, bottles waved, and even those who did not realise who was on stage before, shouted his lyrics word for word.

And if 10Tik lit the flame, Nhance brought the explosion. The crowd roared as Ruff Kutt's drummer, Ricardo 'Drummy' Davis, kicked off the intro to Tables Tur n. The audience immediately became his choir as they sang along to every lyrics.

Moving seamlessly between smooth a cappella moments and thunderous live-band backing, Nhance delivered a genre-bending set with fan favourites such as Nuh Frighten, Unstress, Suicide Love, and Life.

By the time Armanii hit the stage, the crowd was in full frenzy mode and he knew exactly how to keep them there. He delivered a slick, high-energy set that turned the venue into his personal playground.

Mixing hardcore dancehall bangers with a touch of reggae one-drop, Armanii showed off not just his lyrical prowess but also his showmanship.

One starstruck fan from Portland summed it up in this way:

"I think Armanii is hot and he should be my man," she quipped. "This is my first time watching him performing live and he's just hot. He just have a little thing about him - a little razzle-dazzle that makes you wanna be like 'Wow, maybe I would, you know, give him some," she laughed.

Meanwhile, after leaving the stage, a visibly proud Nhance told THE STAR that he was happy to have entertained the Livewire crowd.

"Di vibes did mad, enuh, mi glad mi get di chance," he said. "Mi like di experience, mi enjoy miself, mi think di crowd enjoy demself - it did mad, it did epic," said Nhance.

He credited the fans and the band for allowing him to be himself, by throwing in a touch of flair and dance moves in his performance which got the fans cheering.

Drummer 'Drummy' Davis was pleased with the way Nhance worked the stage.

"When mi see how him handle di stage now, mi affi big him up. Wi deh yah fi build di next generation of artistes, teach dem di craft -- because live music, you cyah beat dat. Live music live on," he said.