Classical music buffs wait all year for the concerts at Tanglewood and samba dancer’s feet start to itch just before Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro, but Reggae Sunsplash is the annual treat for worldwide devotees of reggae.
Faithful fans will travel to Jamaica from all corners of the earth making Montego Bay the epicenter of the reggae universe. Sunsplash offers a once- yearly week of all-star concerts and chances to see the island and meet the musicians.
Headline concerts start late in the evening, sometimes ending after daybreak.
Sending a message was the original purpose of reggae. And the messenger is an infectious, hypnotic concoction of percussion and bass.
“Reggae is indigenous to the island, although not to Montego Bay,” said Janet Maizner, spokeswoman for the Jamaica Tourist Board. “It started in Kingston as a voice for people to speak out about events that had an impact on them. Sunsplash is one of the largest events on the island every year.”
Each night showcases a specific kind of music, a unique dish from the smorgasbord of styles with well-known and new musicians sharing the stage.
This year, the name Marley — a near-mystical one in Jamaica — will once again be center stage at Sunsplash. It will repeat among the crowd and reverberate through the speakers at the Bob Marley Music Centre on Saturday August 17.
Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers — which include his brother, Steve, and sister, Cedella, will demonstrate the rich musical legacy left them by their father, reggae poet Bob Marley.
The worldwide success of their 1988 Conscious Party album demonstrated a new, fresh direction of reggae music. Comparisons of father and son were inevitable as the album’s title cut and Tomorrow People got radio play starting on local reggae programs then later on mainstream stations.
But there is much more to reggae than the Marley family.
Rhythm superstars Sly & Robbie will cook during Saturday’s main course jam, as will Chalice, a group that has not yet become a household word in the U.S.
The first ripples of Sunsplash begin Monday August 15 with a festival first — a dance hall showdown between two of Jamaica’s rival DJ crews.
After a rest on Tuesday night, reggae veterans Bob Andy, Marcia Griffiths and Toots & the Maytals are among the headliners for Wednesday night.
Dance Hall night on Thursday is when the long night seems very short. Last year, a crowd of 40,000 people turned out to see such “toasters” as Yellowman, Admiral Bailey and Charlie Chaplin.
Yellowman, the best known of the group in the United States, gained recognition for taking American rock standards such a Going to the Chapel and giving them a reggae flavor as distinctive as a spicy curry.
His split-second changes from soca to dub-style, reggae to a lilting American rock n’ roll are nearly as intriguing as his rhymes.
The importance of songwriting and musicianship outside the rhythm section gets its due credit on Friday, with Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown and Judy Mowatt. Lyrics take a turn toward love and more traditional subjects while the tempos slow down just a notch or two.
“The music is going back in a different direction,” said Clint O’ Neil, host of WLRN-FM’s overnight reggae program. “People are going back to the lyrics and music. For a long time, there were just toasters and djs. But now producers and singers like Ken Boothe are coming back.”
For those who can’t be there in person, a Sunsplash international tour has traveled to America annually since 1985. In June, Toots & the Maytals, Yellowman, Pato Banton and others came to Miami for an all-night show at the Marine Stadium.
Another warm-up exercise for Sunsplash is the Jamaica Awareness Reggae Festival, now in its fourth year, in Miami on Sunday. Local bands Tishan and Sudden Impack are set to play alongside Derrick Morgan and other Jamaican and international acts.
Spend a day with the live music, picture Montego instead of Biscayne Bay then consume enough ginger beer and jerk pork, and you might be inspired to attend next year’s Splash.
The festival begins at 10 a.m. Sunday in Bicentennial Park, by the bay in downtown Miami. Arts and crafts, foods and refreshments available. Call 891-2944.
