Reggae Month celebrated with Reggae Wednesdays at Emancipation Park

Kingston, Jamaica: A dynamic display of Jamaican music will be featured throughout the month of February, dubbed Reggae Month. As part of the celebrations, a series of mid-week concerts labelled Reggae Wednesdays will be held every Wednesday at the Emancipation Park.

Celebrations began on Sunday, January 29 with a tribute to Dennis Brown on Orange Street and continued on Wednesday, February 1 with the first in the series of five concerts to be held for Reggae Month Celebrations 2012. Reggae Wednesdays are free to the public and starts at 7:30 pm each week.

Reggae Wednesdays celebrate the different genres of Reggae for five weeks, with a different theme each week. Wednesday, February 1 featured Classical, Jazz, Mento and Ska. There were performances by the Edna Manley College String Ensemble, Pimento Players, Jamaica Symphony Orchestra, Gilzene and the Blue Light Mento Band, Jamarokaz, Maurice Gordon, Yaad Beat and Samuele Vivian. The concert was hosted by Ibo Cooper of Third World fame and Chairman of the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) and poet Simone Simpson.

 

Wednesday, February 8, will be themed Legends and New Sensations Reggae Night and features the Legends as well as young Reggae artistes. The following Wednesdays will be themed; Reggae Gone Global, featuring Roots Radics, Mutabaruka and Oku Onuora; Singer’s and DJ’s Reggae Nights and Dancehall and Alternative Reggae Nights

Reggae Month was officially declared by Sir Kenneth Hall, former Governor General of Jamaica on January 24, 2008. Reggae Month is produced by the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) in partnership with the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) and sponsored by the Edna Manley College, Sun Island, Guardsman Group, RJR Communications Group, IRIE FM, Zip FM, the Jamaica Observer, Wisynco, JAMPRO, Advantage General, Rum Bar Rum, Grizzlys, Alternative Music and Tru Tone.  

JaRIA has been organising Reggae Month activities since 2009. JaRIA is an independent, non-governmental organisation serving the needs and furthering the common interest of all individuals, institutions, organisations and firms directly and indirectly involved in the Jamaican music industry.

For further information contact Coleen Douglas at 849-9560 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it