Shaggy, Sean Paul, Beres Hammond coming to UBS Arena on Valentine's Day

Three leading lights of Jamaica — dancehall reggae artists Shaggy and Sean Paul plus Beres Hammond, a performer of the reggae subgenre lovers rock — will bring the rhythms of that Caribbean island to Elmont's UBS Arena at Belmont Park on Valentine’s Day. 

Billed as a joint show of all three “set to share the stage for the first time ever,” the concert on Feb. 14 drops general-public tickets at 10 a.m. Oct. 25 via Ticketmaster.com.

Shaggy, né Orville Richard Burrell, first broke through in the early 1990s, becoming one of the international faces of dancehall reggae. The form, taking traditional reggae and incorporating a rapping DJ, had roots going back to at least 1969 but blossomed during Jamaica’s late-1970s political upheavals.

Raised in Brooklyn from age 18, Shaggy, now 55, channeled the influence of American hip-hop into such albums as “Boombastic” (1995). Both the album and its title track went platinum, meaning at least 1 million units sold. The LP also won a Grammy Award for best reggae album, an accolade Shaggy earned again for 2018’s “44/876. His 2000 album “Hot Shot” reached six times platinum in less than a year.

Sean Paul, born Sean Paul Henriques, also took a best reggae album Grammy for 2002’s “Dutty Rock.” Known for his hit collaborations with artists as varied as Sia, Pitbull, J Balvin and Enrique Iglesias, Sean Paul, 51, scored with the solo platinum or multiplatinum singles “Get Busy” (2003) and “Temperature” and “We Be Burnin' ” (both 2005).

Hammond, at 69 the grand old man of reggae, released his first solo album in 1978 and additionally was part of the revolving lineup of the Jamaican reggae-jazz band Zap Pow. The highly respected performer has collaborated with numerous artists, including Sean Paul, and continued to release new singles as of this year’s "Let Me Help You."

Shaggy had co-headlined the Northwell at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh on June 13, 2023, with the TLC & Shaggy: Hot Summer Nights Tour, with opening acts En Vogue and Sean Kingston.