July 1 is recognized as International Reggae Day. This is 24 hours of celebration for reggae culture and its influence on Jamaican music. This event has a global media reach and is hosted in Kingston. The objective is to celebrate the best of Jamaican creativity and its worldwide impact using the power of music, media and communication technology to unite nations.
International Reggae Day is an annual event held in Kingston (Jamaica) and is dedicated to celebrating this style of music that entered into the world in a sleepy little island country in the Caribbean. It took some time, but Reggae eventually exploded to touch every corner of the world with its unusual and attractive, relaxed style. Originally born out of Ska and rocksteady genres of music in the 1960s, Reggae quickly gained distinction with its unpolished sound and strong dependence on rhythm. It took a few years as a grassroots movement before it began expanding far beyond its little originating island. It became particularly popular in English-speaking nations such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Reggae has often been considered a style of music that is perceived as the voice of the oppressed people, particularly as a rejection of the “imperialism culture”. Some of the specific guitar effects (called “skengay”) that developed out of Ska music are meant to sound like ricocheting guns, in a nod to the sounds of the ghetto streets in Kingston.
Reggae became a powerful style of music with deep roots by the time “Bob Marley” joined the scene, and its influence has never really stopped growing in the more than half-century since. The style of reggae has definitely made its mark and spread wide, with tons of different styles and variations popping up. One of these variations includes a type of poetry called Dub Poetry, which is West Indian Poetry that is then synced up with amazing reggae beats to create a musical poetry style all its own. Even those people who know very little else about Reggae, its music, and its influences, will know the name Bob Marley. He’s the 1980’s Reggae musician who brought his amazing works to the world and shared the idea that three little birds will tell a person that “every little thing is gonna be alright!” Bob Marley had such a distinctive sound that it reached out and touched almost every corner of the world in his day. Of course, he wasn’t the only Reggae artist by a long shot. But certainly, he became one of the most popular and well-known in this musical style that has deep spiritual roots and an august history in Ska and rocksteady music.
International Reggae Day celebrates this Jamaican style of music and brings it to those unfortunate people in the world who may have yet to experience it.
What would Reggae Day be without Reggae Music? Some of the most popular reggae artists with songs that can be added to a playlist for this day might include:
Bob Marley, Along with the band, the Wailers, Bob Marley has often been hailed as one of the pioneers of the reggae movement, and together they released 11 albums in their active years from 1973 to 1981.
Jimmy Cliff, Best known in mainstream circles for “Wonderful World, Beautiful People”, Cliff was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. He has released at least 30 albums.
Peter Tosh, One of the original members of The Wailers, Tosh later became a solo artist and a promoter of the religious movement, Rastafari. He had at least 14 reggae albums to his name before his tragic death in 1987.
There are certainly some great ways to celebrate International Reggae Day, not the least of which is taking a trip down to Kingston to celebrate with some of the best music to be heard the world round. For those who might have a hard time actually getting down to the area itself, a fun idea would be to dress up in your best Rasta colors and fill the day with amazing Reggae beats or to go in following platforms to enjoy the day at full time.
24-hours of non stop programming from Jamaica and around the world with performances Interviews and pannels.
In the spirit of this momentous occasion, Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Hector “Roots Percussionist” Lewis, will use his Instagram platform to connect with fans to bring to them the inaugural Roots Reggae Day. The day-long event is a conversational series that will include exclusive talks with some of the top reggae artists in the global industry who will discuss the impact, joy and inspiration of reggae music on their respective careers, identities and artistry. Some of the recording artists will include chart-topping recording artistes such as Lila Ike, Jaz Elise, Courtni, Shacia Päyne Marley, Kabaka Pyramid, Jesse Royal, Julian Marley and Chronixx.