| Reggae Sunsplash | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reggae, dancehall, etc. |
| Location(s) | Northern Jamaica, international |
| Years active | 1978–96, 1998, 2006 |
| Founded by | Synergy Productions Ltd |
| Website | Reggae Festival Guide |
Reggae Sunsplash is a reggae music festival first staged in 1978 in northern 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 festival returned for a virtual staging in 2020 produced by Tyrone Wilson, Randy McLaren, and Debbie Bissoon.
The Reggae Sunsplash festival was jointly conceived by five Jamaicans—Tony Johnson, Don Green, Ronnie Burke, John Wakeling, and Ed Barclay. The five founding directors created a company called Synergy Productions Ltd, which was responsible for promoting and producing the Reggae Sunsplash festival.[1]
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 several 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.[2]
To promote Jamaica as a tourist and traveling target in Europe, the Jamaica Tourist Board invited the German band Supermax as the opening act of the annual festival in Montego Bay in 1983. 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.[3] 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.[3] The festival also expanded to include an 'oldies night' featuring stars from past eras of Jamaican music. For many years the festival was emceed by Tommy Cowan.[4]
In 1984 the Reggae Sunsplash Festival 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 United States 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 takeover 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 to hold 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.[5]
The festival was re-established by the Johnson family in 2006, but it was unsuccessful.[6] However, the international touring festival has continued.
Three of the founding directors, John Wakeling, Tony Johnson, and Ed Barclay have died. With the passing of Tony Johnson, several individuals have unsuccessfully tried to claim the rights to the festival, 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 by the Jamaican government in recognition of his contribution to the development of Jamaican music.[7]
Reggae Sunsplash returned as a virtual festival on November 27-28, 2020 after a 14-year absence.[8] Performers included Tanya Stephens, Richie Spice, Capleton, Masicka, Dexta Dapps, Jesse Royal, Agent Sasco, and Romain Virgo. [9]