Ky-Mani Marley, Tarrus Riley Join Michael Bolton For Issa Trust Foundation For The Children Charity Concert

Reggae singers Tarrus Riley and Ky-Mani Marley will be joining Grammy award winning singer Michael Bolton at the Issa Trust Foundation For the Children Charity Concert slated for Couples Sans Souci in Ocho Rios, St. Ann on May 27.

Paul Issa, chairman of the foundation says the aim is to raise enough to start the construction of the Mary Issa Health Centre, a paediatric and adolescent care facility, near Richmond, St Ann.

“The Issa Trust Foundation has been doing work since 2005, and we basically concentrate on the St. Mary/St. Ann area and the Westmoreland/ Hanover area near where Couples Resorts has its hotels. The idea is to focus on the children of Jamaica. Our main focus is pediatric healthcare but we also do quite a bit in education. We’ve put in computer labs at the Three Hills Primary School, we’ve don’t work at the Annotto Bay Hospital…St. Ann’s Bay Hospital and what we’re doing now is putting on this concert with the Mitchells (Wayne and Tami) as the emcees, and it’s gonna be a great evening,” Issa, who is also the chairman of Couples Resorts told DancehallMag.

The Issa Trust Foundation previously held a charity gala in November 2022 with Third World as headliners. They managed to raise US$417,000; surpassing the US$200,000 goal. It is uncertain how much more they are looking to raise.

Bolton performed in Jamaica at the 2007 and 2013 stagings of the Jazz and Blues Festival in Montego Bay. He is widely known for hits including Soul Provider, Said Loved You…But I Lied, and Miss You Now.

Diane Pollard, President of the Issa Trust Foundation further said that the concert will be a memorable experience, and is imploring patrons to support the worthy cause.

“Music Brings People Together and we know how much Jamaican’s love Michael Bolton, and Michael Bolton Loves Jamaica. We hope everyone comes out to not only enjoy the music; from When a Man Loves a Woman to How Am I Supposed to Live Without You and more but also know they are helping to impact the lives of the children knowing all proceeds will go to the Mary Issa Pediatric and Adolescent Health center,” she told DancehallMag.

During his last visit to Jamaica, Bolton told the Jazz and Blues team that the reception he receives from his Jamaican audience compelled him to return to the island. 

“When people know your music and embrace you here in Jamaica, it gives us goosebumps, too as artistes and it reminds you how many years people have been listening and embracing your music. It’s such a powerful experience that I said I’d like to come here for the rest of my life. So, I wasn’t exaggerating,” he said in 2013.

The lineup for the Issa Trust Foundation For the Children Charity Concert is promising as all acts have carved a niche for themselves.

Ky-Mani, for example, received a Grammy Award nomination in 2001 for his third album Many More Roads.  The album was preceded by Like Father Like Son (1996), The Journey (2000), and it was followed by Milestone (2004), Radio (2007), Maestro (2016), and Conversations (2016) with Gentleman.

He contributed to two songs that entered the Billboard Hot 100, namely Gotta Be…Movin On Up with PM Dawn, which peaked at No. 90, and Avenues with Refugee Camp All Stars and Pras, which peaked at No. 35.

Riley on the other hand is best known for songs like She’s Royal, Simple Blessings and Just The Way You Are. His 2015 track Powerful was Certified Silver in the UK in 2021.