Sunsplash
| Reggae Sunsplash | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reggae, dancehall, etc. |
| Location(s) | Northern Jamaica, international |
| Years active | 1978-1996, 1998, 2006-present |
| Founded by | Synergy Productions Ltd |
| Website | |
| Reggae Festival Guide | |
Reggae Sunsplash is a reggae music festival first staged in 1978 in the northern part of Jamaica. In 1985 it expanded with the addition of an international touring festival. The festival ran annually until 1996, with a final event in 1998, before it was revived in 2006.
The Reggae Sunsplash festival was the brainchild of five Jamaicans - Tony Johnson, Don Green, Ronnie Burke, John Wakeling, Ed Barclay. The five founding directors created a company called Synergy Productions Ltd, which was responsible for promoting and producing the Reggae Sunsplash festival.
The first Reggae Sunsplash festival was staged at Jarrett Park, Montego Bay, Jamaica, in June 1978 and began at dusk and continued until dawn for seven days. With the help of Peter Martin, a longtime Jamaican tourism stalwart and his public relations firm, Peter Martin Associates, the Sunsplash Festival was able to gain international exposure. It was billed as the "biggest Reggae festival in the history of the world". The festival introduced the concept of music and travel as a boost to tourism in Jamaica. Prior to the staging of Reggae Sunsplash, the hotels in Jamaica were traditionally closed during the summer period. The five founding partners staged the festival each year for a number of years and successfully created an annual summer tourist season in Jamaica. The success of Reggae Sunsplash led to a wave of annual music festivals in Jamaica and the Caribbean islands. The festivals popularity led to a shortage of hotel rooms and a tradition of camping out on local beaches.
To promote Jamaica as a tourist and travelling target in Europe, the Jamaica Tourist Board invited in 1983 the German band Supermax as opening act of the annual festival in Montego Bay. Clever was to invite also several German journalists to report not only about the festival but also about the sunny side of Jamaica.
From 1981 the festivals were filmed and recorded, with several videos and albums released, the first being Reggae Sunsplash '81: Tribute to Bob Marley, released by Elektra Records. From 1987 the festival included a sound clash event, with finalists from a national sound system competition competing as a precursor to the rest of the festival. The festival also expanded to include an 'oldies night' featuring stars from past eras of Jamaican music. For many years the festival was emcee's by Tommy Cowan.
In 1984 the Reggae Sunsplash festival also expanded into international events with a one-day festival staged at The Crystal Palace in London, England. In 1985 the Reggae Sunsplash World tour was launched in the USA and Japan and subsequent years saw the Reggae Sunsplash festival touring extensively throughout North America, Europe, South America and the Far East. 1991 saw the introduction of a 'Caribbean Night' featuring other Caribbean music such as soca, and the following year the festival's scope increased further with the addition of a 'World Beat Night'.
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Wikipedia