Reggae Sunsplash is a

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 ...

music festival first staged in 1978 in the northern part of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. 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 festival returned for a virtual staging in 2020 produced by Tyrone Wilson, Randy Mclaren and Debbie Bissoon.

History

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 festival's popularity led to a shortage of hotel rooms and a tradition of camping out on local beaches.Walters, Basil (2010)
"Book on Reggae Sunsplash to be launched"
, '' Jamaica Observer'', 7 June 2010. Retrieved 28 August 2010. 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. 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.Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', Backbeat Books, , pp. 227–236. From 1987 the festival included a

sound clash A sound clash is a musical competition where crew members from opposing sound systems pit their skills against each other. Sound clashes take place in a variety of venues, both indoors and outdoors, and primarily feature reggae and dancehall music. ...

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 Tommy Cowan CD (born Thomas Lincoln Cowan, 6 April 1946, Saint Elizabeth, Jamaica) is a producer and singer, initially working in reggae but later concentrating on gospel, who has been involved in the music business since the 1960s.Brooks, Sade ...

.Moskowitz, David V. (2006). ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , p. 254. In 1984 the Reggae Sunsplash festival also expanded into international events with a one-day festival staged at Selhurst Park 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". While the festival had become hugely popular, opening new global tourist niche markets to Jamaica and attracting millions of dollars of foreign exchange into the country, it had not been a financial success, largely due to the lack of sponsorship or government support. In 1995 the Chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board operating through a company called Radobar Holdings Ltd offered financial assistance in exchange for equity in Synergy Productions, the founders of Reggae Sunsplash. This initial offer was never consummated and in a disputed claim Radobar Holdings announced the formation of a company called Reggae Sunsplash International in Jamaica and proceeded with the hostile take over of the Reggae Sunsplash festival. The first attempt at staging Reggae Sunsplash without the original owners Synergy Productions in 1996 was a financial disaster for the new claimants. In 1997 the Reggae Sunsplash festival was postponed until 1998 when it was timed to coincide with celebrations of the birth of Bob Marley but more losses were incurred. More futile attempts at recapturing the original spirit of the Reggae Sunsplash festival were never replicated by the Radobar group. The festival was re-established by the Johnson family in 2006, but it was not successful.Cooke, Mel (2006)
"St Ann welcomes Reggae Sunsplash"
", '' Jamaica Gleaner'', 22 May 2006. Retrieved 28 August 2010. The international touring festival, however, has continued. Three of the founding directors, John Wakeling, Tony Johnson and Ed Barclay died and with the passing of Tony Johnson a number of individuals have tried to claim the rights to the festival unsuccessfully and all have failed to recapture the spirit of the legendary Reggae Sunsplash. Don Green and Ronnie Burke are the two remaining Reggae Sunsplash founders alive. In August 2015 it was announced that Burke would be awarded the

Order of Distinction The Order of Distinction is a national order in the Jamaican honours system. It is the sixth in order of precedence of the Orders of Societies of Honour, which were instituted by an Act of Parliament (''The National Honours and Awards Act'') ...

by the Jamaican government in recognition of his contribution to the development of Jamaican music. In August 2019 it was announced that the festival would return to Jamaica in November 2020 after a 14-year absence.Johnson, Richard (2019)
Sunsplash is back
, '' Jamaica Observer'', 28 August 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019

Dates and venues

*1978: June 23–30, Jarrett Park, Montego Bay *1979: July 3–7, Jarrett Park, Montego Bay *1980: July 2–5, Ranny Williams Entertainment Center, Kingston *1981: August 4–8, Jarrett Park, Montego Bay *1982: August 3–7, Jarrett Park, Montego Bay *1983: June 28-July 2, Bob Marley Center, Montego Bay *1984: August 7–11, Jarrett Park, Montego Bay *1985: August 6–10, Jarrett Park, Montego Bay *1986: August 26–30: Jarrett Park, Montego Bay *1987: August 18–22, Bob Marley Center, Montego Bay *1988: August 15–22, Bob Marley Center, Montego Bay *1989: August 14–19, Bob Marley Center, Montego Bay *1990: June 24, Pine Knob Music Theater, Clarkston, MI *1990: July 16–21, Bob Marley Center, Montego Bay *1991: July 26–31, Bob Marley Center, Montego Bay *1992: August 3–8, Bob Marley Center, Montego Bay *1993: August 3–7, Jamworld, Portmore *1994: August 1–6: Jamworld, Portmore *1995: July 12–14, Dover, St. Ann *1996: August 1–4, Chukka Cove, St. Ann *1998: February 5–8, Reggae Park, St. Ann *2006: August 3–6, Richmond Estate, Priory, St. Ann

Albums

* Big Youth - ''Live At Reggae Sunsplash'' (1982), Sunsplash/

Trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...

*Chalice - ''Live At Reggae Sunsplash'' (1982), Pipe Music *

Yellowman Winston Foster , better known by the stage name Yellowman, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay, also known as King Yellowman. He first became popular in Jamaica in the 1980s, rising to prominence with a series of singles that established ...

- ''Live At Reggae Sunsplash'' (1982), Sunsplash *

Eek-A-Mouse Eek-A-Mouse (born Ripton Joseph Hylton, 19 November 1957) is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is one of the earliest artists to be described as a " singjay".Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rough Guide To Reggae, 3rd edn.", Rough Guides, ...

Michigan & Smiley Michigan and Smiley are a Jamaican reggae/dancehall duo consisting of Papa Michigan (born Anthony Fairclough) and General Smiley (born Erroll Bennett). They rose to popularity during the first wave of dancehall music in the late 1970s. Career The ...

- ''Live at Reggae Sunsplash'' (1983), Sunsplash * The Gladiators &

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 ...

- ''Live at Reggae Sunsplash'' (1983), Sunsplash *

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. ...

- ''Live At Reggae Sunsplash'' (1983), Sunsplash *

The Twinkle Brothers The Twinkle Brothers are a Jamaican reggae band formed in 1962, and still active in the 21st century under Norman Grant's lead. History The Twinkle Brothers were formed in 1962 by brothers Norman (vocals, drums) and Ralston Grant (vocals, rhythm ...

- ''Live At Reggae Sunsplash 82 (Since I Throw The Comb Away)'', (1983), Sunsplash *

The Mighty Diamonds The Mighty Diamonds were a Jamaican harmony trio, recording roots reggae with a strong Rastafarian influence. The group was formed in 1969 and were best known for their 1976 debut album, '' Right Time'', produced by Joseph Hoo Kim, and the 197 ...

Mutabaruka Allan Hope (born 1952), better known as Mutabaruka, is a Jamaican Rastafari dub poet, musician, actor, educator, and talk-show host, who developed two of Jamaica's most popular radio programmes, ''The Cutting Edge'' and ''Steppin' Razor''. His ...

- ''Live At Reggae Sunsplash'', Genes ;Various Artists: *''Reggae Sunsplash '81: Tribute to Bob Marley'' (1981), Elektra *''Best of the Festival - Day One Live at Reggae Sunsplash 1982'' (1982), Sunsplash *''Reggae Sunsplash Live'' (1982),

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

*''Sunsplash Live'' (1983), 56 Hope Rd *''Reggae Sunsplash '86'' (1986), Bellaphon *''Best of Reggae Sunsplash'' (1994), Genes

Video

*''Reggae By Bus (1979)(AKA Reggae Sunsplash II), a Film By Stefan Paul (The first Sunsplash on film) *''Reggae Sunsplash 10th Anniversary 1987(001)(Phase Three Productions)(Synergy) *''Reggae Sunsplash Dancehall 88'', Charly (VHS) *''Reggae Sunsplash - 10th Anniversary Of Reggae Sunsplash - Dancehall X'', Charly (VHS) *''Reggae Sunsplash Dancehall '89'' (1990), Charly (VHS) *''Reggae Sunsplash '90, Variety Night'', Charly (VHS) *''Reggae Sunsplash Dancehall Special'', Charly *''Reggae Sunsplash Music Festival - Best Of Sunsplash 1991'' (1992), Warner Music Vision (VHS) *''All Time Best of Reggae Sunsplash Music Festival'' (1993), Warner Music Vision (VHS) *''Reggae Sunsplash II'' (2003), Columbia (DVD) *''Cool Runnings: The Reggae Movie'' (2005), Xenon (DVD) *''The Best Of Reggae Sunsplash'' (2006), 4digital (DVD)

References

External links

Reggae Festival Guide
Music festivals in Michigan Electronic music festivals in Jamaica Concert tours Reggae festivals in the United States Music festivals established in 1978 Reggae festivals in Jamaica Summer events in Jamaica