Shane-O performs at the launch of Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest at the Kabana on Hope Road in St. Andrew on Tuesday. Shane-O will perform on Dancehall Night of the music festival. - WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
THE PLANS for Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest 2005, which will be a blend of vintage music, roots reggae, dancehall, rap and R&B, were outlined at the Kabana on Hope Road, St. Andrew, on Tuesday night.
This year's staging of the summer festival will run from Sunday, July 17, to Saturday, July 23, in Montego Bay, St. James, with the last three nights being staged at the main venue, Catherine Hall.
The opening beach party at the Rose Hall Beach Club will be a mixture of live and recorded music, with the Pace Band performing, as well as turntable goodies from DJ Squeeze, Soul 2 Soul, Arif Cooper, Code Red and Soul Faith.
There is a rest from Sumfest's main activities until Rockers Night on Wednesday, July 20, at Pier 1. John Holt, Gregory Isaacs, Alton Ellis, Judy Mowatt, the Mighty Diamonds, Charlie Chaplin, Josey Wales, General Trees, Pinchers, Brent Dowe and Jimmy Riley will perform to music from SANE Band.
MAIN VENUE NIGHT
The first main venue night is Dancehall Night, where Capleton, Sizzla, Elephant Man and Lady Saw will be the major draws. Turbulence, Sasha, Assassin, Macka Diamond, Kiprich, I-Wayne, Voise Mail, Spice, Bascom X, Ann Shakes, Okonko, Fire Lion and Shane-O round out the line-up, with Venom as one of the night's backing bands.
The first of two International Nights sees overseas performers Ciara and Akon performing along with Morgan Heritage, Luciano, Sanchez, Richie Spice, Mackie Conscious and Nash Lawson, with the SANE Band providing some of the night's music. Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest 2005 closes with International Night II, on which Fabulous will be the overseas performer among Damian 'Junior Gong' Marley (featuring Stephen Marley), Toots and the Maytals, Ini Kamoze, Tami Chynn, Tarrus Riley and C Sharp, with the SANE Band again taking the stage.
Title sponsors Red Stripe will be offering prizes on each of the three main venue nights, with a Honda XL 200 motorcycle up for grabs on Dancehall Night and International Night I. A Chevrolet Colorado will be the prize of the festival's last night, International Night II, while iPod mp3 players will be among the other prizes available to those who receive a scratch card when they buy Red Stripe beer. A prize symbol under the crown will entitle them to an instant prize.
WINNING SONG
In addition, the winner of this year's Red Stripe IRIE FM Big Break Competition will be performing their winning song on Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest 2005.
Another sponsor, Cable & Wireless Jamaica, will team up with Black Entertainment Television (BET) to provide a chance to win tickets to BET's 106th & Park in New York or the 2006 BET Awards in Los Angeles, inclusive of airfare and hotel accommodation. In addition, purchasers of prepaid Nokia 3100 or Motorola C115 cellphones up to July 12 will have a shot at winning backstage passes to Dancehall Night, complete with air travel to and from Montego Bay, hotel accommodation and transportation by limousine to and from the Catherine Hall main venue.
Other sponsors of Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest 2005 are Air Jamaica, the Jamaica Tourist Board, Bigga, Wata, Ocean Spray, Holiday Inn, Half Moon, Wyndham, CVM Communications Group, BET Jazz, RJR, FAME, Radio 92, IRIE FM, RealVibes.net, Comtech, Courts, Pay Pak and Continental Airlines.
