REGGAE SUMFEST 2001 Shaggy, Ja Rule, And Blu Cantrell Perform At Reggae Sumfest(8/7/01, 3 p.m. ET) -- All went well when Shaggy, Ja Rule, and Blu Cantrell performed this weekend at Reggae Sumfest after the Jamaican music festival, billed as "The Greatest Reggae Show On Earth," was rocked by violence for the first time in the event's nine-year history. Despite the bottle- and rock-throwing incident that marred Sumfest on Thursday (August 2), there were no more disturbances during the festival and thousands enjoyed a peaceful atmosphere at Montego Bay, Jamaica's outdoor venue Catherine Hall when Shaggy, Ja Rule, and Cantrell performed late Sunday (August 5), the fest's final night.
Cantrell got a warm reception when she closed her short set with her hit single "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)," as did Ja Rule when he performed a medley of his hits and dedicated his performance of "I Cry" to the late rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., who was born in Jamaica. Fireworks signaled Shaggy's entrance to the stage. Shaggy, who was born in Jamaica, opened the show with "Home," and he was later joined by his popular singing partners Rayvon and Ricardo "RikRok" Ducent in performance of the chart-topping hits "It Wasn't Me" and "Angel." During his lengthy performance, Shaggy took time out to call for peace and unity in the reggae community as he addressed the violence that occurred earlier at Sumfest. The singer said he had "love" for all of reggae's dancehall music performers, an apparent reference to the feud between Bounty Killer, Beenie Man, and Merciless that appeared to fuel Thursday's violence. Bounty Killer also downplayed the feuding between reggae artists that marred the festival when he made a surprise return to the stage Sunday night, jamming with reggae great Richie Stephens during his performance. Before Bounty Killer left the stage, he "apologized to all his fans" for refusing to continue his own earlier performance when Beenie Man walked on the stage just as Bounty Killer was criticizing him. Many have compared rivalry between Beenie Man and Bounty Killer, who used to be friends, to the war of words that broke out between Notorious B.I.G. and Shakur when they were still alive, and some questioned why Sumfest organizers had the two perform on the same night of a weeklong festival. At a press conference on Saturday (August 4), Sumfest executive director Johnny Gourzong explained that Bounty Killer and Beenie Man had temporarily ended their feud when they were signed to perform on the same night, and he noted violence had "never" occurred before at the festival. Gourzong also stressed that there were no violent incidents when Luciano, Freddie McGregor, Cocoa Tea, and others performed Friday night (August 3), the third night of the festival. When asked whether Bounty Killer and Beenie Man would be welcome back at the festival, Gourzong expressed support for Bounty Killer and said he would call Beenie Man to ask him why he felt compelled to bum-rush the stage during Bounty Killer's performance. However, Gourzong added that Merciless, who was on stage saying things about other performers when the rocks and bottles started hitting him on Thursday, would be banned from future Sumfest events. Organizers also noted the violence that has recently plagued a small area of Kingston, Jamaica's capital, has never hit the tourist area of Montego Bay, and was unrelated to what occurred at the festival. Sumfest ran July 31 through August 5. Others who appeared at festival this year included Snoop Dogg, Alicia Keys, Damian Marley, Baby Cham, Barrington Levy, and Vegas. Grammy-winning recording artist Lauryn Hill, who was seen vacationing in Jamaica during the festival, was briefly slated to appeared at Sumfest, but sources told LAUNCH that her appearance was canceled because of a disagreement about which songs she would perform. The next Sumfest is scheduled for August 4-10, 2002. -- Anna Maria Gibson, New York Previous postings... Lauryn Hill Added To Reggae Sumfest Lineup(7/27/01, 6 p.m. ET) -- Grammy-winning recording artist Lauryn Hill has just been added to the lineup of stars appearing at this year's Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest. Organizers of the week-long Jamaican music festival, billed as "The Greatest Reggae Show On Earth," announced on Friday (July 27) that Hill is set to perform at Sumfest on Friday, August 3.Hill joins a lineup that already includes Alicia Keys, Snoop Dogg, Ja Rule, Shaggy, Bounty Killer , Beenie Man , Merciless , Damian Marley , Baby Cham , TOK , and Sizzla . Last year, Shaggy, Beenie Man, Wyclef Jean, and Jay-Z were the highlights of the nine-year-old festival, which attracted more than 60,000 concertgoers. Sumfest will be held July 31 through August 5 at the outdoor venue Catherine Hall in Montego Bay, Jamaica. For more information about the festival, check out reggaesumfest.com. -- Anna Maria Gibson, New York
Reggae Sumfest 2001 will be staged at Catherine Hall Jamaica W.I. July 30 - August 5 Preparations for Reggae Sumfest 2001are well underway and as such changes are being made in various aspects of the show to improve on the successes of last year. Along with the change in name to Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest, the festival will see a small shift in the order of the nights. Organizers recognize that the ever-changing trend in the Jamaican music business has shifted back to singers hence the decision to bring back a Singers' Night to the lineup. Singers have always been a constant entity in the fickle music business but as with everything else in life the new sensation (Dancehall Music) hit with a bang and created a stir for a while. Now that the hype has worn off a little, Singers are seeing a resurgence. Last year the festival kicked off with the beach party at Rose Hall Beach Club, then moved to Pier One for Sound system night. Dancehall Night and International nights I, II & III were held at Catherine Hall. This was the first time that the festival saw three international nights. The first changes came in 1999 when the lineup was changed from a Legends Night, a Dancehall Night, a Singers Night and an International night to two dancehall nights, a Legends night and an International night. This move reflected the dominance of dancehall music at the time. In 2000 there was another shift to three international nights and a Dancehall night. Which could indicate a shift in the dominance of Dancehall. Audiences started looking for something more, something with a newer feel. "The music industry changes a lot, and we have to go with the flow the industry is taking to please the people," stated a sumfest representative. It is therefore no surprise that a singers night has been brought back into the mix this year, given the raving popularity of singers like Beres Hammond, and Tony Rebel who don't seem to have the capacity to fade out. Newcomer Abijah already has people sitting up and paying attention to his original and refreshing lyrics, and there are several others breathing new life into the singing aspect of the Jamaican music industry. Singers'
night is set for August 3rd, replacing one of the International nights
initially announced. Slated to perform on Singers night this year
are Beres Hammond, Luciano, Tony Rebel,Glen Washington, George Nooks,
Cocoa T, and newcomer Abijah. The event will take place at Catherine Hall
Montego Bay.
Alicia Keys, Snoop Dogg, Ja Rule Added To Reggae Sumfest(7/14/01, 10 a.m. ET) -- Alicia Keys, Snoop Dogg, and Ja Rule have just been added to the lineup of stars appearing this year's Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest. Organizers of the week-long Jamaican music festival, billed as "The Greatest Reggae Show On Earth," announced Friday (July 13) that Keys and Snoop are set to perform at the festival on Saturday, August 4, while Ja Rule's performance is scheduled for Sunday, August 5.The performers join a lineup that already includes Shaggy, Bounty Killer, Beenie Man, Merciless, Damian Marley, Baby Cham, Mr. Lexx, TOK, and Sizzla. Last year, Shaggy, Beenie Man, Wyclef Jean, and Jay-Z were the highlights of the nine-year-old festival, which attracted more than 60,000 concertgoers. Sumfest will be held at the outdoor venue Catherine Hall in Montego Bay, Jamaica, from July 31-August 5. It has also been announced that part of the proceeds from the event will be used to aid Jamaica's homeless. For more information about the festival, go to reggaesumfest.com. -- Anna Maria Gibson, New York Got news tips, comments, or questions? Send them to newstips@launch.com. Reggae SumFest Returns ...July 2001Ras John's behind the Scenes Report From Reggae SumFest '95
"FOUR THE HARD WAY' CLOSING SUMFEST '99" Gregory Isaacs , John Holt, George Nooks and Ken Boothe in a tribute to Dennis Brown brought down the curtains of a very successful Reggae Sumfest 1999. The last night brought literally fireworks from Dru Hill with an sensational show, Morgan Heritage where marvelous and Beres Hammond and Buju Banton got, the more than 10.000 crowd, really rocking. Thank you all for supporting Reggae Sumfest this year again, we could never have done it without all of you Reggae Fans. Click on the following links to take you to REGGAESUMFEST.COM, our friends in MoBay, JA... Home | Artists | News | Travel Packages | Tips & Info | Reggae Links | 1998 Hilites
Ras John's behind the Scenes Report From Reggae SumFest '95
Summerfest Productions Ltd 19 Gloucester Ave, Montego Bay Jamaica. Phone: ( 876) 952-8592. Fax (876) 952-3715
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