If you’ve never considered attending Reggae Sumfest as your summer festival of choice, this is your sign. Stunning Montego Bay, Jamaica plays host to world-class festivities that will provide a show that I can guarantee you will have never experienced: immersing in reggae, dancehall, sound clashes, and more until the sun literally rises (getting “bleached” is the local, aptly reverential term) changes how you view the genres – and concerts – in general.
Crowds for the main festival nights, the final Friday and Saturday, easily swell to 80,000-plus at Montego Bay’s Catherine Hall Entertainment Complex. Plastic horns constantly sound as the audience shares their appreciation, a tradition dating back to the abengs – hollowed cow horn instruments – played by slaves to clandestinely communicate across fields.
A small platoon of musicians rotates out on stage, covering hours of performance by making up the shared backing bands of the featured artists. The Casiotone MT-40 keyboard becomes a familiar and oddly soothing presence, its ubiquitous adoption a constant across reggae and dancehall both. It all comes together in a beautifully welcome culture shock, throwing the doors open to a whole new level of appreciation for this particular corner of the musical world.
Standouts of the festival, and don’t doubt that they’re worth highlighting if they stick in the memory following OVER 24 HOURS of shows, include dancehall rising star Valiant, whose career after years of development is hitting warp speed; golden age reggae legend Freddie McGregor, who emotionally took to the stage from a tasteful throne following a stroke last December that threw his ability to perform in doubt; Dynamq, the South Sudanese winner of the Global Sound Clash (think part battle of the bands, part rap battle, but for DJs), whipping the crowd into a frenzy with rapid-fire ten-second samples of the biggest bangers; and Kabaka Pyramid, the reigning Reggae Album GRAMMY holder that brought a warm presence to the stage just as the sun was rising.
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If the festival isn’t enough to entice you to Jamaica, of course, the island’s other amenities are worth raving about as well. Tubing some 200 metres underneath a passenger jet as it approaches landing? Exhilarating. Overland side-by-side ATVs through mystic Rastafarian lands, finishing off with a plunge in a local spring and fresh mango? Sublime. Indulging in rum punch, curry goat, and unlimited local hospitality? Endlessly enjoyable.
In short? You’ve gotta try it out.
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