Ever since
February 2007 the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) has celebrated
reggae month in Jamaica with a month filled with activities throughout the
island of Jamaica. This year’s reggae month celebration should have begun with
the Dennis Brown Symposium and concert, which never got on the way due to last
minute sponsorship cancelation. Week one started with a tribute concert to
mento, ska and classical jazz (Maybe the organizers of this event can show the
Grammy producers how to do a tribute, reggae style) while week two saw features
from reggae bands. While week three featured Sly and Ronnie, famously called
the rhythm twins and week four will see deejays and singers highlight their
talents.
The month-long
event will see several seminars and symposiums. There will be an award ceremony
in recognition of several industry players. This year’s reggae month
celebration is of particular significance as its Jamaica’s 50th year
of independence from Great Britain. Jamaican has a rich heritage of reggae and
it great that there can be a month long of celebration, education and
networking. Artist to participate in this year’s reggae month celebrations
includes Ken Boothe, Romain Virgo and Chris Martin, just to name a few.
As I have always
said, reggae is a vibrant brand and should be exploited as such to be benefit
of the reggae industry and the people of Jamaica. As industry players we have
to do more to expose this unique brand to the world at large. Artists like Bob
Marley, Dennis Brown, and Lee Perry have done a great job thus far; it now left
up to the current artists, emerging artists and music business professional to
continue that trend. Reggae is not confined to the shore of Jamaica anymore as
there are many reggae acts emerging all over the world. I look forward to
attend next year’s reggae month activities in Jamaica, and hope to participate
at some point.
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