Two Jamaican born Philadelphia based businessmen Michael Clarke and Dave Grant are bringing back the mellow feelings of the golden age of Jamaican music to Philadelphia in the form of a Sunday night event dubbed as REWIND.

Debuting tonight March 6th Rewind will take place at the trendy Philadelphia nightspot The RESERVE and is designed as an early affair with doors opening at 7 pm and closing out at 1 am.

The format includes celebrity hosts plus local and international DJs with the playlist featuring music from the 80s, 90s as well as the classics from the Studio One and Treasure Isle era. Superstar radio personality RAGASHANTI will do the honors of hosting the first of what should be many Sunday nights of pure niceness. For more information visit https://www.facebook.com/Rewind-Philadelphia-1520002008302216/

Whatage Music, the record label that’s partially responsible for the success of Reggae singer Hezron, has just inked a deal with Manchester based singjay Millitant.

C.E.O and owner of Whatage Music, Courtney Johnson, met Millitant in the summer of 2015. After hearing his music and learning about his talents as a song writer, producer and engineer, Courtney thought it prudent to enter into a production and management deal with him. The two penned an agreement shortly after meeting and have since released a few singles and most recently, a mixtape.

When asked why he signed Millitant almost immediately after meeting him, Courtney said, “Millitant reminds him of Mavado, only a little more refined in his musical style.”

Listen to “Be Strong” from Millitant here:

The Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) closes Reggae Month with the JaRIA Honour Awards to be held at the Courtleigh Auditorium on Sunday February 28^th, in New Kingston. The Honour Awards celebrates reggae music industry professionals who have made an extraordinary contribution and impact to the music. 17 awardees will be honoured in 24 catagories including, Lifetime Achievment, Mentorship, Posthumous, Engineering, Production, Sound System, Musician, Band, Media, Promotion, Songwritting, and Icon Awards for Male and Female Artiste, Duo/Group, and Gospel Artiste. In addition, the popular vote for “Breakthrough Artiste of the Year” & “Song of the Year” will be announced that night. Attendees can expect a night filled with world class entertainment as artists perform with an orchestra arranged by Ibo Cooper.

Tickets may be purchased at the JaRIA Office located at 10 Holborn Road or picked up at the Courtliegh Auditorum on the night of the awards.

Unfortunately, annual events including the “Dennis Brown Concert” and “Trenchtown Festival” have been rescheduled and will take place March 6^th and March 12^th respectively. For more information and updates please vist the JaRIA website at www.JariaJamaicaMusic.com.

Reggae Month is in its 8^th year and the 2016 celebrations pays tribute to Kingston’s creative city status under the theme, “Reggae Mekyah”.

Chairman of Jam Link International, Henzel Clarke, has announced that the official dates for the 2016 Aarhus Reggae Festival will be publicized this Saturday at Reggae Link Up at Voxhall. The association will be hosting the dancehall governor, Lt. Stitchie alongside Danish dancehall king, Kaka, this weekend at the second installment of the Reggae Link Up series.

Hence, they have decided that this is the ideal event to publish the 2016 dates for the festival. All details such as ticket price, supporting acts, start time etc. for Reggae Link Up are available here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1676153519326254

When giant sounds with a fond love of the culture come together during a rare occasion, the result can only be music magic. To put it mildly, this is what went down in Japan recently when Mighty Crown teamed up with Rory Stone Love to take it “Back to the Hardcore” before thousands of fans during sold out shows in Yokohama and Osaka!

It’s very seldom that these prominent sounds share the same stage. In fact, historically, for 10 years (due to pretty well known behind the scenes mix up), the two sounds did not take dates together, with the exception of a couple of surprise/happenstance billings staged by a promoter. The beauty of “Back to the Hardcore” is that “The Far East Rulaz” and Rory Stone Love put all beef aside for the greater good of the music and culture, delivering outstanding performances to massive Japanese audiences.

With a focus on the phenomenal era of 80’s and 90’s tunes, a vibrant time for Reggae and Dancehall, Mighty Crown drew for some real dubs and classic 45s, setting the pace for the one and only Rory Stone Love to unleash killer anthems. The young and old shouted out lyrics to their favorite selections verbatim. It’s a no brainer, that classic Dancehall is Rory’s strength, so without question, the selector received forward after forward for slinging unforgettable tunes and riddims.

Mighty Crown launched “Back to the Hardcore” more than 15 years ago as a platform to educate fans on Reggae and Dancehall music. One night while playing, Sami T was approached by a young audience member who innocently asked “What is the Showtime riddim?” Add a few similar inquiries from young fans to this equation and there spawns “Back to the Hardcore.”

Notably, Sami T pinpointed the need to bridge the generation music gap. “Back to the Hardcore” was typically billed for artists until Rory’s breakout performance this year. In addition to stops in Yokohama and Osaka, “Back to the Hardcore” also made a sold out stop in Nagoya.