Considered one of Central America's biggest and most popular music festivals. The annual 'La Barra Imperial' (The Imperial Bar) is an assemblage of various ethnic groups and musical genres converging on Palmares, Costa Rica for a prodigious cultural showcase. With over forty bands and a cadre of world-renowned entertainers including Yandel, Sebastián Yatra, Los Cafres, Afrojack, Technasia, Wisin and Víctor Manuelle; the Reggae genre was well represented over the weekend as dancehall luminary Beenie Man, the lone headliners for that night, kept the Jamaican banner in full flight. Donning a black and gold Versace ensemble, the dancehall doctor delivered a phenomenal set spanning over an hour to the capacity-filled venue. Unravelling his expansive catalogue tracks such as 'Romie, Girls Dem Sugar, Rum & Red Bull'garnered some of the night's biggest forwards. Closing off his set, Beenie Man thanked the almost ten thousand patrons for their unwavering support and a memorable night. Speaking with members of the Latin American media following his performance Beenie Man said, “Central America is one of my biggest fanbases they always show a lot of love and support for my music. So whenever the opportunity presents itself for me to perform here they can expect nothing but the absolute best from me.”
Though no fault of the dancehall maestro, he also used the opportunity to apologise to the thousands of patrons who came out to see him but were left stranded outside due to overcrowding concerns despite an even bigger venue than the previous year. "I want to thank everyone that came out and also apologise to those that weren't able to get inside the venue, hopefully, next time they'll get an even bigger venue." - a seemingly jocund Beenie added. Event manager, Juan José Altmann and his team said, "The Artist and his band The Zagga Zow offered the Costa Rica fans a powerful show at La Barra Imperial in Palmares. Beenie Man commanded the stage show and connected with a sold-out crowd that danced, sung and enjoyed to a solid repertoire of hits from the undisputed king of dancehall. It was our first time working with him and his management team and we are looking forward to developing more shows in the near future.”
Locally, the award-winning deejay is currently promoting his latest video '10 Metric Ton' featuring Stylo-G, amid working on several high profile projects slated for release in the weeks ahead.