Entertainment in Jamaica
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A
Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville
This corporate franchise has turned getting drunk into big business. As with its counterparts in Montego Bay and Negril, the music is too loud and the drinks are too expensive, but some people find the orchestrated good-time vibe to be irresistible. The menu aims for the lowest common denominator with selections including the artery-clogging ‘Cheeseburger in Paradise’ and Caesar salads, pizzas and sandwiches.
reviewed
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B
Quad
This complex comprises four clubs, each with its own distinct personality. On the main floor is Christopher’s Jazz Club, a tasteful jazz bar where the city’s movers and shakers gather on a nightly basis. In the basement is Taboo, a so-called ‘naughty gentleman’s’ club with ‘exotic’ dancers. Every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, two clubs open up on the top floor: the Voodoo Lounge, which tends to draw an older, more urbane crowd, and Oxygen, which attracts a twenty-something set always ready to get sweaty until 4am. The US$10 admission will give you entry into Christopher’s, Voodoo Lounge and Oxygen; Note that Taboo charges a separate US$10 admission.
reviewed
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C
Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville
This popular place claims to have ‘put the hip into the Hip Strip’. Who would have thought that anything to do with Jimmy Buffett could obtain a cachet of cool? Ignoring the sleeping patterns of the strip’s many hotel guests, outrageously loud music is pumped into the air until the moment before dawn. Four open-air bars, 15 big-screen TVs and dance floors on decks that overhang the water offer plenty of diversion until the wee hours. If that’s not enough excitement, there’s a waterslide to carry revelers through the plumbing to flush them ignominiously into the ocean near a floating trampoline.
reviewed
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D
Weddy Weddy Wednesdays
The best opportunity for visitors to catch one of Kingston's free outdoor sound-system parties is Weddy Weddy Wednesdays, presided over by the biggest name in sound-system productions, DJ Stone Love in Burlington Ave in uptown.
Generally, the action doesn't start until a little after midnight and once it subsides most of the crowd troops off to the Passa Passa sound-system, at the intersection of Spanish Town Rd and Beeston Street, which blasts until sunrise. Another popular party is Uptown Mondays in Savannah Plaza, which begins around midnight.
reviewed
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Shanshy Beach
This pretty but badly maintained stretch of sand 2km west of Port Antonio has a big, bad sound system. An area DJ collective called Big Bad Trouble International spins for theme nights including the After Work Jam on Friday featuring dancehall music; Cranked Saturdays with hip-hop, R&B and reggae; and Talent Explosion Sundays featuring local flair. Signs reading ‘No Gun Salute’ forbid the carrying of concealed weapons. There’s a restaurant and bar.
reviewed
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National Stadium
Soccer is Jamaica’s second sport. It was given a huge boost by the success of the Reggae Boyz – Jamaica’s national soccer team – in qualifying for the 1998 World Cup. And though they’ve had little success since, the reappointment of the ’98 team’s Brazilian coach Rene Simoes in 2007 has rekindled hopes of a return to glory. International matches are played at the National Stadium in Kingston.
reviewed
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19th Hole Club
Most fun-hungry visitors make the short journey to Ocho Rios for their after-hours kicks or settle for what’s on at their resort; subsequently, local entertainment options are few. The usual charmless go-go clubs include the 19th Hole Club, which also has pool tables and live music. Also here is Club Encore, one of the nicer bars among the less-than-inspiring options, and Slick’s Tappa Top 8 Ball Sports Bar, with pool tables.
reviewed
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Gloria’s Top Spot
Around 100m east of the muster ground, this is the place to be on a Friday or Saturday night, when local men of all ages – from youths in the latest hip-hop fashion to geezers in yesterday’s duds – filter in and warm up at the bar to await the arrival of the women – from young and attired in spandex ‘batty riders’ to grannies in more conservative garb. By midnight, everyone is dancing to the latest sounds.
reviewed
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Angler’s Club
AKA the Fisherman’s Tavern, this is a funky watering hole drawing locals who wash in and out, overindulge in white rum, and pick fights while bartenders boogie at the bar. ‘There are a few scalawags, but mostly it’s harmless stuff, ’ one bartender said. It has tremendous character on Friday night when a mountain of speakers is built 7m high in the square and ska music reverberates across the harbor.
reviewed
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E
Jungle
A happening disco and the only one you’ll find outside of an all-inclusive resort. It’s not the most urbane place, with its tacky decor, but the DJs definitely know what they’re doing; during the high season guest talent from Miami and New York regularly takes command of the turntables. The best nights are Thursday, when women enter free before midnight, and Saturday. There’s not much action before midnight.
reviewed
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F
Jamaican Bobsled Café
This watering hole makes a good-natured attempt to capitalize on everybody’s favorite fish-out-of-water story – the Jamaican bobsled team immortalized in the film Cool Runnings, which is in a perpetual loop on a corner screen. It’s a good spot for grabbing one of the many rum-based concoctions and watching the hullabaloo along the strip, a sight more engaging than watching John Candy.
reviewed
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G
Roof Club
This is Port Antonio’s infamous hang-loose, rough-around-the-edges reggae bar. Young men and women move from partner to partner. You’re fair game for any stranger who wants to try to extract a drink from you. It’s relatively dead midweek, when entry is free. But on weekends it hops with Crazy Saturdays, as well as on Thursday – ‘Ladies Nite.’
reviewed
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H
Mobay Proper
Attracting a young local crowd, this exuberant bar serves libations on the terrace and has decent Jamaican cooking. Beneath a ‘chandelier’ of Heineken bottles, the pool table generates considerable heat, while dominoes are the rage with an older crowd out on the patio. On Friday night there’s a fish fry and vintage reggae, and live jazz rings in each new month on the first Sunday.
reviewed
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I
MXIII
Negril’s reggae concerts are legendary, with live performances every night in peak season, when there’s sure to be some big talent in town. Several venues offer weekly jams, with a rotation system so they all get a piece of the action. The really big-name acts usually perform at MXIII and Hotel Samsara.
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J
Little Pub
The touristy venue Little Pub is an old favorite, replete with sports TV and the occasional eclectic floor show to amuse you while you sit at the bar. A resident band plays here six nights per week. The live-entertainment schedule changes night by night, and includes an Afro-Caribbean musical, karaoke, and a weekly cabaret on Friday.
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K
Pier One
Pier One throws a big dance party on Friday night. Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville competes with World Beat Night on Friday and DJs most other nights. The Brewery has well-known DJs who rock the house on Friday and Saturday nights, while Aquasol Theme Park occasionally stages big-name DJs; check local listings.
reviewed
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L
Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville
This most ostentatious of the beach bars sustains a spring-break vibe all year long. There are big-screen TVs, a basketball court, trampolines in the sea, volleyball, swing hammocks and multiple bars with entertainment. It hosts wet T-shirt contests and the like, and has nightly specials, including karaoke on Sunday.
reviewed
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M
Cuddy’z
Perhaps the best sports bar in Jamaica, this hip establishment is the creation of the ‘Big Man Inna Cricket, ’ Courtney Walsh. TVs in each booth and a lively bleachers section with an oversized screen make this a great place to watch a cricket match. The Heineken Wednesdays are very popular.
reviewed
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N
University Singers
Watch for performances by the University Singers, who are acclaimed for their repertoire of Caribbean folk and popular music, choral performances, madrigals, jazz, African songs and pantomime. Don't miss the Cari-Folk Singers, who are dedicated to preserving the Jamaican folk genre.
reviewed
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O
Club la Best
The newest, liveliest spot in Port Antonio, La Best assumes a different identity depending on the evening. Fridays are dancehall and ladies’ nights, Sundays groove to a mellow blend of reggae and old-school R&B, and periodic live shows occur Saturdays.
reviewed
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P
Ward Theatre
Home to the National Dance Theater Company, known for its rich repertory combining Caribbean, African and Western dance styles. The Jamaica Folk Singers and the Little Theater’s annual pantomime – a riotous, irreverent social satire – are also staged here.
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Sabina Park
Sabina Park is the place for cricket in Jamaica. The 30,000-seat arena hosted its first test match in 1929 and has been a focal point for the sport ever since. Attending a match - particularly an international test - is a must whether or not you are a fan.
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Safari Disco
For touristy options, try the shows at Club Caribbean or the Safari Disco, which has special attractions on weekends. You can buy a night pass to many area resorts (US$45 to US$75) granting unlimited booze, food and entertainment.
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Q
Indies Café and Grill
Dark yet lively sports bar, patronized by young professionals with an enormous screen behind the bar, that gets rambunctious as the night progresses. Karaoke takes over on Thursday. Ignore the food on offer here as the kitchen pays it scant attention.
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Amnesia
A classic Jamaican dancehall, this remains the happening scene. Theme nights include an oldies jam on Sunday, ladies night on Thursday and an after-work party on Friday. This is all leading up to Saturday’s dress-to-impress all-night dance marathon.
reviewed