‘Forever Young’ for Stone Love’s 50th on December 17

Stone Love's annual anniversary party makes its way to Sabina Park on December 17 and the 'World Immortal Sound' will be celebrating half a century under the theme 'Forever Young', while keeping to its pledge to have a "rent-a-tile vibe".

An upbeat Winston 'Wee Pow' Powell, owner of Stone Love, shared that the golden jubilee celebrations actually kicked off in the US last month, and the support and love was so overwhelming that at one venue, patrons could not get in because the crowd was so huge.

"We were in New York on November 19 at a venue called The Compound and we had Massive B, Bass Odyssey, Bodyguard, Nexxt Level and Noah Powa. And then it was Florida and Georgia for Thanksgiving Weekend. We celebrated in New York with Wayne Wonder and Louie Culture, Metro, Matterhorn, Coppershsot, Renaissance, Waggy T, Supa Sound, Madd Ras and Steelie Bashment. The fans were happy to see us and we were even happier to see them. It was a big family reunion and we thank the fans for their love," Wee Pow said.

If possible, he is even more excited about the red-carpet style celebration planned for next week Saturday and gave a shoutout to Campari for coming on board. He explained that the decision was taken to push the usual Stone Love Awards to a later date in order to accommodate non-stop music.

"We don't want to interrupt the flow of this dance party as we will be bringing back the old-time rent-a-tile vibe. It is all about satisfying the fans for the 50th and we have surprise guest selectors who were carefully selected. And we also have exclusive cabanas available," he said.

Stone Love started life in 1972 as a humble component set and and 50 years later, they remain a force to reckon with, scooping up numerous major awards along the way.

"Most people know Stone Love when it start blossoming, they didn't know us when we just started life at 34 Molynes Road. It was not really a 100 per cent plan to be around for 50 years, but when I gave up my job to pursue full time what was then my hobby, I approached it as a serious business," said Wee Pow.

Stone Love, which has distinguished itself based on the quality of its sound rather than the size, is renowned for its exclusive dubplates by many of the artistes which it helped to establish, including Buju Banton, Wayne Wonder, Johnny Osbourne, Shabba Ranks, Sanchez and Beenie Man.

The sound system spawned the Stone Love and Father Pow record labels that have released hits by Bounty Killer, Jigsy King and Tony Curtis, Capleton, Tanya Stephens and Daddy Screw.

Over the years, Stone Love has played numerous overseas gigs, covering North and South America, Europe, and Japan.