3. Respect Jamaica 50th (Indig02, London; July 25-August 6)
After much talk earlier of this year of a “Jamaica Village” (with live performances, food vendors and other cultural happenings) near the London Olympics site in Finsbury Park, those plans have been canceled, replaced with this concert series celebrating Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of independence at the 02 Arena satellite space, indig02. We hear there’s nearly two weeks of concerts from Jimmy Cliff, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Damian Marley, Barrington Levy, Gyptian and more in store but with the festival’s site not currently accessible, and nothing on the venue’s site, we can’t seem to find much details. Hopefully, Respect Jamaica 50th goes down as planned— it would be a shame if it doesn’t. If not, there’s always the One Love Peace Festival. Happening this year on London’s Mabley Green July 15, One Love has usual summer reggae festival suspects like Bunny Wailer, Barrington Levy, Capleton, Luciano, plus I-Octane and Khago and—here’s where things get interesting—T-Pain, Rev. Runand dancehall-dabbling U.K. pop rapper Chipmunk.
