Toppa Top 10: Top 10 Summertime Reggae Festivals

Words by DJ Gravy and Jesse Serwer

Summertime only means one thing for many music fans: mammoth outdoor festivals. These events are particularly important in the world of reggae, considering the association people outside the Caribbean make between Jamaican music and warm weather, sunshine and general good-time vibes. So while there’s a small handful of important wintertime events in the Caribbean like Sting, almost every reggae/dancehall fest worth its salt(fish) falls between May and September. Here’s our picks for the best summertime fests around the US, the Caribbean and the globe.

10. Reggae on the River (Benbow, Calif.), July 16-17

Reggae on The River (or, as it’s known locally in Humboldt County, just plain “Reggae”) was, until recent years, the most widely known reggae fest in the States. In 2007, the event relocated to a different site and changed its name to Reggae Rising but, while this incarnation got great reviews, it didn’t last. The festival has moved back to the shores of the Eel River now, but the lineup isn’t as strong as it once was. Still, this now 27-year-old institution has a lot of history–every card-carrying yankee reggae fanatic should make the trek out at least once.

9. Uppsala Reggae Festival (Uppsala, Sweden), August 4-6

The lineup at Uppsala reads like a chronological who’s who of reggae history, spanning the ’60s and ’70’s (Toots, Ken Boothe, Heptones, Johnny Clarke) straight up to current artists like Richie Spice, Queen Ifrica, Mr. Vegas and Gyptian. Scandanavians love them some reggae–more than people from elsewhere would ever guess. If Denmark’s Natasja were still around, you can bet she’d have a major slot on this fest.

8. Sierra Nevada World Music Festival (Boonville, Calif.), July 17-19

Sierra Nevada World Music Festival might just have the best lineup of California’s many reggae festivals this year. Current favorites like Bermudan crossover sensation Collie Buddz, JA’s top new Rasta artist I-Octane and wave-making newcomers Romain Virgo and Duane Stephenson are on the bill alongside classic artists like Horace Andy, Steel Pulse, Dennis Alcapone and Pablo Moses. Not to mention mento legends the Jolly Boys and Stone Love. Mad! This one is a boom shell!!!

7. St. Kitts Music Festival (Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis), June 23-25

Many of the big music festivals held around the Caribbean tend to pull their talent too much from outside of the region, particularly from the world of past and present American R&B. St. Kitts Music Festival seems to have the balance just right, though. Fantasia and a Lionel-less Commodores are at the top year’s festival, but so are current (Jah Cure, Gyptian, Demarco) and classic (Yellowman, Cocoa Tea, Bunny Wailer) artists from Jamaica, as well as local St. Kitts bands (Small Axe) and calypsonians (King Konris).

6.One Love Peace Festival (London, England), July 31

Inspired by the historic 1978 One Love Peace Concert in Jamaica, England’s One Love Peace Festival has the distinction of being held in one of the world’s most famous music venues: Wembley Arena. Sean Paul, Shaggy and Busta Rhymes are the main acts charged with filling the behemoth space this year but equally appealing is the well-curated mix of both current and classic Jamaican (Gyptian, Etana, Abyssinians, John Holt )and British (Aswad, rappers Skepta and Bashy) acts.

5. Rototom Sunsplash (Benicassim, Spain), August 18-27

The 10-day-long Rototom Sunsplash festival, held in Italy from 1994 to 2009, last year crossed borders to Beniccasim, a beach town on Spain’s Costa del Azahar, where it will be held once again this year. Slated to take the main stage this year are a grip of old-school legends–Bunny Wailer, Johnny Clarke, Horace Andy, Jimmy Cliff, Ken Boothe, Brigadier Jerry, Maxi Priest, Michael Prophet, Ali Campbell–plus a smattering of contemporary voices like Mr. Vegas, Luciano, Shaggy, Gyptian and Lutan Fyah. The big stage is just one element of this multi-pronged cultural event, which also features smaller stages for up-and-coming and ska acts, a dancehall, a dub tent, photo exhibitions, debates and a series of meetings to discuss “important moments in the history of reggae music.” Heavy.

4. Jazz Reggae Fest (Los Angeles, Calif.), May 29-30

With one day of hip-hop, jazz and funk (“Jam Day”) and another for reggae, this annual event on the campus of UCLA has put together a real quality lineup this year. On the reggae front, Sean Paul and Gyptian are the top two draws, along with one of the best female artists in the game, Tanya Stephens, plus the classic Steel Pulse, Hawaii’s No.1 reggae artist J Boog and our Panamanian friends from the Bay Area, Los Rakas holding it down for the Spanish-speaking set.

3.Reggae Summerjam (Cologne, Germany), July 1-3

No matter what your angle on reggae is (or music in general), we bet you’re gonna want to take a peek at the cost of flights to Germany after seeing the lineup Cologne’s Reggae Summerjam has put together this year. By far, the most intriguing collection of names on the lineup (which also includes Busy Signal, Jimmy Cliff, Youssou D’Nour and even New Orleans’ Trombone Shorty) belong to Lee “Scratch” Perry and his former collaborators, The Congos and–haven’t heard this guy’s name in a while–Max Romeo. After watching the Perry doc The Upsetter we’re pretty sure he won’t be reuniting with the Congos in July or ever, but we’re willing to hold out hope that the Upsetter and Romeo decide to recreate one of our top 5 all-time reggae tunes in “Chase the Devil.” Now, that would be worth drinking a few Becks to.

2.Best of the Best (Miami, Fla.), May 28-29

Last year, this Memorial Day Weekend fete at downtown Miami’s Bayfront Park had to do some last-minute shuffling after the U.S. Embassy revoked the visas of several key Jamaican acts scheduled to perform, shifting to a more hip-hop- and R&B-heavy lineup than in the past. The visa situation for Jamaican artists hasn’t improved since then and the roster’s still heavy on American acts (There’s a whole R&B day on Saturday headlined by Chris Brown) but Best of the Best’s organizers came up with a solution: they’re going to broadcast, via satellite, a live performance from Jamaica by the Caribbean artist everyone wants to see the most right now, Vybz Kartel. Stephen and Damian, Allison Hinds, Assassin, Etana, Sanchez, I-Octane, Stephen and Chino McGregor, Richie Loop, Demarco and Romain Virgo are also on the bill.

1.Reggae Sumfest (Montego Bay, Jamaica), July 17-23

The largest annual music festival in Jamaica, MoBay’s Reggae Sumfest has been the biggest summertime music institution in the Caribbean virtually since its inception in 1993. Although critics complain that it isn’t what it used to be, emphasizing American R&B and hip-hop over dancehall and reggae, this four-night event is still one of the best and most popular excuses for a mid-summer flight to Jamaica. The current incarnation of the event takes place over four nights–a Saturday night Beach Party to kick things off,  then Dancehall Night the following Thursday and two different International nights on Friday and Saturday. We’re still waiting on the details of this year’s lineup, though…