Reggae on the River was an annual

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

festival active from 1983 until 2019 in Humboldt County,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It was frequently held on the last weekend in July or on the first weekend in August.

History

Reggae on the River began in 1984 as a benefit for the Mateel Community Center, a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

for southern Humboldt County,Reggae on the River archive
/ref> after an arsonist burnt down the community hall in Garberville. The board members at the time were Nancy Shelby and Carol Bruno who worked with Jack Arthur in organizing the festival to raise money for a new hall. It was held at French's Camp (a property located on a bend in the Eel River owned by the Arthur family near

Piercy, California Piercy is an unincorporated community in Mendocino County, California. It is located on the South Fork of the Eel River, north-northwest of Leggett, at an elevation of . The first post office at Piercy opened in 1920. The name honors Sam Pie ...

) every year until 2006 when financial issues forced the festival to be relocated for the next two years. In 2003, the annual festival celebrated its 20th year. A DVD featuring performances from the anniversary was released. It includes performances by

Culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

Toots & the Maytals The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music. ...

Third World The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...

Beres Hammond Beres Hammond Order of Jamaica, OJ (born Hugh Beresford Hammond; 28 August 1955, in Annotto Bay, Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica, Saint Mary, Jamaica)Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock St ...

Israel Vibration Israel Vibration are a reggae harmony group, originating from Kingston, Jamaica. Lascelle "Wiss" Bulgin, Albert "Apple Gabriel" Craig, and Cecil "Skelly" Spence all suffered from childhood polio, and went on to be a Jamaican roots reggae grou ...

, Anthony B., and the Marley brothers.

2006 Conflict

The 2006 concert brought in far less money than previous years. Due to the move to a new site and the expenses incurred in removing equipment from the old location, the Mateel saw no revenue from the 2006 event. In 2007, the festival was canceled in the wake of a legal battle between the Mateel Community Center, People Productions (the company started by Carol Bruno after leaving her position at the Mateel), and Tom Dimmick, the owner of the property which hosted the festival in 2006. The dispute centered on revenues, with the Mateel questioning why profits estimated by People Productions did not materialize, why there was a discrepancy between the number of tickets approved and reported attendance and $300,000 in cash expenditures with no receipts. In the wake of the cancellation of Reggae on the River, People Productions in conjunction with Tom Dimmick produced their own reggae concert at Dimmick Ranch, which was called " Reggae Rising" and took place at Dimmick Ranch on the usual first weekend in August.

New site

From 2008 the festival had occurred at Benbow Lake State Recreation Area, in Benbow, California, north of the event's original location on the Eel River. In 2013, Reggae on the River returned to its original location at French Camp (just north of

) and its original time, the first weekend of August (sometimes the event falls on the last weekend of July, or on the transition from the end of July to the beginning of August, depending on how weekends fall on the calendar year). In 2019, the festival was cancelled due to low attendance and financial troubles. In 2022, after the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

lockdown period was lifted, the Reggae on the River festival did not return due to venue permitting issues. However two smaller festivals were supported; the new Harvest Hangout, and the 45th Summer Arts and Music Festival.

References

External links

Official site
{{coord, 39, 59, 50.55, N, 123, 47, 27.08, W, region:US, display=title Music festivals in California Reggae festivals in the United States Tourist attractions in Humboldt County, California Cannabis in California

History

2006 Conflict

New site

See also

References

External links