With a raging bonfire giving a silvery look to the beautiful white sand, and the full moon overhead adding a golden glow, it was all fun as locals mixed and mingled alongside the curious guests at the western city’s official launch of Downsound Entertainment’s Reggae Sumfest 2019 at the Iberostar Grande hotel in Montego Bay, St James, on Wednesday night.
“It is going to be a fantastic festival and I am really looking forward to giving the patron a fantastic experience,” said Downsound Entertainment’s CEO, Joe Bogdanovich, who acquired the Reggae Sumfest franchise in 2016.
The five-day festival blasts off on Sunday, July 14, and will see the likes of Beres Hammond, Chronixx, Buju Banton, Beenie Man and Bounty Killer among the heavyweights performing.
Five of the artistes booked for the 2019 edition of Reggae Sumfest delivered sneak previews of what to expect when they grace the main stage of the reggae festival in July.
Shauna Chynn showed a lot of ‘skin,’ and created a nice buzz as she delivered Independent and Control Button. Shane E was velvet-smooth, dishing out, Bad Mindand Get a Fight; while Keniel Merital was vocally powerful in unleashing, Money Nuffand My Money.
Tickets are available on Reggae Sumfest’s
Eventbrite Ticket Website
Reggae Sumfest Mawnin’ Medz
Mawnin’ Medz on Sunday, July 14th at Tropical Bliss Beach in Montego Bay is the kick-off breakfast party in what is shaping up to be a stellar week of events leading up to the Main Nights for Sumfest 2019.
Both the Touchdown King Stylo G and the Soca Monarch Skinny Fabulous will provide epic entertainment at the gorgeous venue.
Spinning music to keep everyone dancing from 6 am to 1 pm will be Mobay’s own Crazy Neil, along with DJ Courtney, Jigga and Antsman.
The dress code is beach chic; gates open at 6am. It’s brunch inclusive and will have plenty of options for purchase at the bar.
The stream presented a curated feed live from Catherine Hall, Montego Bay, featuring main stage performances along with features, artiste and media interviews, all hosted live by popular television host Sakina Deer.
The JTB Live Stream is hosted on the Visit Jamaica Facebook page, which has over 940,000 followers around the globe, JTB said on Monday.
“This year we wanted to give our audience a taste of what the greatest reggae festival on earth is like in a virtual setting,” said Donovan White, Jamaica’s director of tourism. “We know that there are lots of folks who for whatever reason could not be in Montego Bay, so we are using this platform to showcase not just our music but the culture, fashion, food and signature vibe of the Reggae Sumfest.”
Featured on the stream were interviews with artistes like Argentinian reggae sensation Dread Mar I, D Major, Press Kay, Yanique the Curvy Diva, along with CEO of Downsound Entertainment Josef Bogdanovich.
During the broadcast, JTB said Deer welcomed Reggae Sumfest performing artists J Boog, Keznamdi, Naomi Cowan and D’Yani to the JTB booth for exclusive interviews, giving viewers an exciting behind the scenes look at the festival featuring real-time updates from the performers themselves.
Other notable VIP guests included Dr. Horace Chang, Minister of National Security and Mitch Watson, president of the United Nations Association of Jamaica and sprint phenom Briana Williams.
Local and international members of the media also joined the JTB to conduct interviews with artists, sponsors and event organizers.
These included Jamaica Gleaner’s Janet Silvera, Sean Kelly from Canadian radio station Mix 97 FM, and Reggae Sumfest Inspire Award-recipient Patricia Meschino from Billboard, JTB said.
Building on its success from the first night, JTB said its booth attracted hundreds of attendees on the closing night of the festival, and captivated audiences across Jamaica and major United States markets through its “dynamic, all-encompassing Facebook Live experience.”
As Reggae Sumfest celebrates its 26th anniversary this year, the greatest and only reggae show in Jamaica has, again, opened its doors to Africa.
Reggae Sumfest’s CEO Joseph Bagdonovich, in his bid to unite through music, has extended an invitation to Ghana’s most popular dancehall artiste, Stonebwoy.
Bagdonovich has also made the streaming free for Africans to watch.
Stonebwoy, who is excited about his first-ever performance at Reggae Sumfest, posted a video of his rehearsal, saying, “It’s a dancehall night this Friday at Montego Bay. Come witness the fire.”
Ghanaians can join the global live stream of Reggae Sumfest on both Friday and Saturday via reggaesumfest.cleeng.com or www.ameyawdebrah.com.
The 26th staging of the world-renowned music festival will be held at Catherine Hall entertainment complex on July 20 and 21.
According to the Sumfest website, “ticket holders may not bring in chairs to the festival, due to safety issues and regulations”.
However, in a telephone interview with THE STAR, Sumfest director and deputy chairman Robert Russell said that the restrictions will be for seats of a certain size.
“We going to allow people to use chairs, but what we won’t allow is the big, sprawling lounge chairs that take up two and three spaces,” Russell said. “(We will allow) chairs that patrons can sit on comfortably, (because) we can’t expect patrons to stand up all night. I would not be going if I had to stand up all night … but there has to be restrictions.”
The website said the new restrictions will affect the last two nights and is established to ensure the safety of patrons, and comes at a time when a record number of reggae music fans is projected to attend.
Sizzla, Popcaan, Aidonia, Bounty Killer, Harry Toddla, Agent Sasco, Shane O, Tosh Alexander, Tommy Lee, Dance Xpressionz, Rygin King, Govana and Stonebwoy (Ghana) are among the acts scheduled to perform on Friday’s dancehall night.
The legendary Beres Hammond, Damian Marley, Capleton, Cham, Fantan Mojah, J Boog, Jah Dore, Jesse Royal, Raging Fyah, Naomi Cowan and Empress Ayeola are among those billed for Saturday night.
– Albert Ferguson
Patrons attending this year’s staging of Reggae Sumfest in Montego Bay, St James, can rest assured that they won’t have to enjoy the music on empty stomachs, as the Pizza Truck Express will be among the vendors supplying mouth-watering treats just as they have done since 2010.
Pizza Truck Express, which started its operations in 2009 and joined forces with Reggae Sumfest’s organisers the following year, has over the years successfully provided patrons of the annual musical show with a variety of pizzas and sandwiches to suit every taste.
The pizza provider’s menu for this year will include mainstay pizzas that have been available from the days when it started out with a stall at the venue and over time upgraded to its signature truck. Those options include cheese, pepperoni, jerk barbecue chicken, shrimp, and even vegetarian for those seeking a meatless option.
Its sandwiches are likewise varied, to include its signature nine-inch ham and salami sub-sandwich and other options such as chicken, turkey, and its newest, beef sandwich.
George Lowe, the proprietor of Pizza Truck Express, said that the brand has become a household name in Montego Bay, and even overseas.
“We have been going to Reggae Sumfest annually, and we are very popular with the patrons. We stand out because the product is local in and around Montego Bay, so therefore, each year at Reggae Sumfest they look out for us,” said Lowe.
“We have overseas customers who come annually, and the response we get from the customers while we are in there at Reggae Sumfest, is overwhelming,” Lowe added.
The 26th anniversary of Reggae Sumfest will take place in Montego Bay, St James, on July 15-22. Capleton the ‘Fireman’ will be closing night two, popularly called Reggae Night, of this year’s renewal of Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest.
Several top artistes have been billed to perform on night two of the festival. They include Beres Hammond, Jr Gong, Maxi Priest, Cham, J Bogg, Jesse Royal Jahdore, Fantan Mojah, Empress Ayeola and Raging Fyah.
Sizzla Kalonji is expected to give a fiery set on Dancehall Night. The likes of Bounty Killer, Popcaan, Aidonia, Spice, and Masicka are also booked to perform.
After touring a large part of the globe thanks to his music and being the pioneers in the genre Reggae – Dancehall in Mexico, Jah Fabio continues to conquer markets and challenging himself to achieve things that were previously considered impossible for the Spanish-speaking genre.
Now the result of his hard work over more than 10 years of artistic career, he has been signed as the only artist in Spanish, by one of the most important Reggae – Dancehall festivals in the world, the “Reggae Sumfest”, which will develop in Jamaica from July 15 to 21 in Montego Bay.
Jah Fabio will be on the main stage of the event on Dancehall night, on Friday, July 20 along with important artists like Sizzla, Popcaan, Bounty Killer, Agent Sasco, I Octane, Aidonia, Tommy Lee, among others, icons of the Jamaican music in the world.
Undoubtedly, this is a very important Latin share since this drives the connection of Spanish-speaking reggae and dancehall artists with Jamaica, something that a few years ago seemed impossible.
In addition to this, he already plans visits to Colombia and Chile where he will consolidate what he has done in previous years.
Official Website of the Reggae Sumfest Festival in Jamaica: https://reggaesumfest.com/
Facebook: @jahfabiomx Instagram: @jahfabiomx Twitter: @jahfabiomx
Lauryn Hill will perform at this year’s St Kitt’s Music Festival
http://www.looptt.com/content/more-carnivalcaribbean-events-you-dont-want-miss-julyaug
Organisers of Reggae Sumfest will be restricting the type of chairs patrons will be allowed to take to the venue for the Friday and Saturday night live shows.