Sizzla, Masicka headline free Red and Reddy concert in Antigua and Barbuda

Free entry, a prime-time start and a lineup built around Sizzla and Masicka turned the Red and Reddy concert into far more than a party at Rising Sun Grounds. The ABLP-backed show, staged Saturday night at 7:00 p.m., was open to the public and pitched as a high-visibility moment in the final stretch before Antigua and Barbuda’s April 30 general election.

That mix of access and star power mattered. Sizzla brought reggae authority, Masicka brought dancehall weight, and the supporting bill added Destra Garcia, Burning Flames, Asa Banton, Tian Winter and Claudette Peters, along with other local performers. The result was a cross-generational crowd pull, with veteran soca and reggae fans getting familiar names and younger listeners getting a current dancehall draw without a ticket barrier standing in the way.

The concert also carried clear political purpose. Prime Minister Gaston Browne announced the snap election for April 30 on April 8, with Nomination Day set for April 13. The Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission said 37 candidates were nominated across all 17 constituencies, while CARICOM deployed a nine-member Election Observation Mission on April 23 ahead of the vote. The ABLP, which won nine of the 17 seats in the January 18, 2023 election, used Red and Reddy as a visible rallying point for late-campaign momentum.

By night’s end, the event had done what organisers wanted on scale. Reports said thousands of supporters packed Rising Sun Grounds, filling the venue with red-clad backing just days before voters head to the polls. The ABLP also lined up a Red and Reddy megacade for April 26, starting at 11:00 a.m. from the same venue, extending the campaign push beyond the concert.

The celebration was interrupted early after gunshots caused panic. Police later said a 28-year-old man was shot along Queen Elizabeth Highway shortly after 1:00 a.m. on April 26, two suspects were detained and a firearm was recovered as part of the investigation. Browne later said the shooting near the public concert was not political, underscoring how quickly a free mass gathering built around reggae, dancehall and soca can shift from campaign theatre to public safety concern.