Our friends over at Miss Lily’s are releasing their first book, Jamaican Dancehall Signs from the Collection of Maxine Walters, which makes sense since Miss Lily’s makes awesome Jamaican food. Matt Goias, the restaurant's spokesman, told us that the book spotlights the hand-painted and hand-lettered signs that get thrown up all over town illegally and under the cover of darkness to promote “that week's bass-fueled dancehall reggae basements.” Maxine Walters, a Jamaican filmmaker, has been obsessively gathering these often overlooked signs for the past twelve years, climbing trees and poles with a crowbar in her hand, and a selection from her collection can be seen in the book.
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Miss Lily’s is having a big bashment of their own tonight, from 7-9 PM at 130 West Houston St. The show will feature some the actual signs themselves, as well as a book signing and an interview with Maxine on Miss Lily’s radio station. Who knows? Snoop Lion might even show up.
