After much anticipation, the documentary, Inna De Yard, which captures the behind the scenes of several recording sessions of the actual group (with the same name), was released in France on July 10th. There has been a lot of suspense and excitement surrounding this movie, as parts of the film were teased in music videos prior to its release.
Click here for a brief synopsis of Inna De Yard (the reggae documentary).
With full support from the popular Sagittarius Band, the legendary dancehall artist, King Yellow Man, will be doing a full set at the Wild Hare (located at 2610 N Halsted St) in Chicago, Illinois on Friday, August 2nd.
Doors will open at 6 pm, and advance tickets, which are available here: www.wildharemusic.com, are going for $15 USD.
On Wednesday, July 17th, Stephen Marley‘s tour will be making a stop at Bernie’s Beach Bar (73 Ocean Blvd) in Hampton, New Hampshire. The Tour, which has dates all across the United States, also features Jo Mersa Marley and will run right through to the Fall.
The Bernie’s Beach Bar show is a 21 and older event, with tickets going for $29 USD.
On Wednesday, July 31st, recording artist Protoje will perform at The Met (858 N Broad Street) in Philadelphia, PA. There will also be performances by U.S. based reggae band Rebelution as well as Collie Buddz.
Tickets, which start at $39.50 USD, are available via Ticketmaster. Doors will open at 6 pm and the show will start at 7 pm.
Rockchild & New Vybz Promotions will be hosting the king of lovers-rock, Mr. Beres Hammond, on Friday, August 2nd, at Woodbine Mall (500 Rexdale Blvd.) in Etobicoke, Ontario. As this is a part of Beres’ Never Ending Tour, he will be supported by his full band.
Tickets, which are available online via Ticketweb.ca and TicketGateway.com, are priced as follows: $40 earlybirds; $60 regular; $80 seated (1 drink complimentary special seat area); $150 VIP comes with food & 2 drinks (standing front stage).
The 2019 Foxy’s Hemp Fest will take place on Saturday, July 13th at Foxy’s Tamarind Bar (Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke) in the British Virgin Islands.
This event will kick off at 2 PM with a local vendors market that will display arts & craft, organic food, literature, hemp products, oils and more. Additionally, in the daytime there will be entertainment on the beach with DJ Dean and DJ Shak, as well as a Sunset Fashion Show.
In the night, at approximately 10:30 PM, there will be a live performance by Jamaican reggae artist Luciano, who is the headlining act for the festival. Get more info here.
I have been wanting to write a short article about the impact of unprofessional show promoters on the reggae / dancehall industry for some time now, but I kept on putting it off. However, after hearing about what happened with Richie Spice in London last week, I decided that it’s important to say something about this.
Let me start by making it clear that I have no idea what exactly happened with the promoters at the Richie Spice show, so this is not specifically about them. That being said, I have worked with promoters in both France and Sweden, that were extremely unorganized and unprofessional in both cases. Regretfully, what is happening is a lot of artists, especially emerging talents and old school veterans trying to make a come back, will overlook some very important steps in the booking process just for the opportunity to perform and be paid.
What I would like all artists to know is that not everyone that is putting on a show is a professional event promoter. After paying very close attention, I am realizing that there are quite a few promoters putting on shows just for egotistical reasons, as opposed to organizing an event with the intent of generating revenues from it. When we as Jamaicans do business with an unprofessional organizer, one that’s doing it for all the wrong reasons, we indirectly bring down the industry, as their unprincipled approach to the business will be reflected on the artist, DJ, musician etc. that they are hiring.
Here are some of the things that I have seen done by amateurish show promoters over the years:
– Artist not paid after their performance
– Promoter unable to buy return ticket for artist after show
– Artist being asked to stay in less than stellar accommodation
– Artist not being fed
… and this is just to name a few. I really could go on and on.
In closing let me say that it is important to have a signed booking agreement prior to the show being announced. Artists, DJs, dancers, musicians etc. should work very closely with their agent to ensure that the booking agreement covers everything that is important to them before signing.
MARIA JACKSON 27 MAGAZINE 