Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer
Damian 'Jr. Gong' Marley is among the artistes confirmed to perform at the International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRWMA) to be held at the Apollo Theatre in New York on May 6. - PHOTO BY NATHANIEL STEWART
IN ITS travels around the United States, the International Reggae and World Music Awards has been to many cities apart from Chicago, where it started 25 years ago. Among them are Miami, Atlanta and Chicago, but on May 6, on its fourth visit to New York, the IRWMA will be at a special venue for the first time.
It will be hosted at the famous Apollo Theatre on 125th Street.
Organiser of the awards, Ephraim Martin, is naturally in an upbeat mood. "Especially in this 25th year, I am very excited and pleased with how it's looking so far," Martin said to The Gleaner at the New Kingston offices of JAMPRO, where details of the event's silver anniversary were announced on Friday afternoon.
150 NOMINEES
There are over 150 nominees in 41 categories and Martin explained that "the nominees are selected by the experts, engineers, journalists, disc jockeys, entertainers. We make a list each year and they make a selection, after which the general public makes the final selection".
That public ballot is done either by indicating choices on the back of the flyer for the awards, where all the categories and nominees are printed, or via the Internet on the website www.IRAWMA.com.
The Apollo has a 1,500 person capacity, with tickets ranging from US$50 to US$125 and Martin names Damian 'Jr. Gong' Marley and Beenie Man among those already confirmed to perform live on May 6. However, this year the 'International' applies not only to the wide range of music forms and persons the awards cover, but also the event itself.
LOCALISED AWARD CEREMONIES
Michelle Thomas of Khemetcom Entertainment explained that before the Apollo event there will be three more localised award ceremonies, in Jamaica, Ghana and England, where some winners from the various regions will receive their awards, all of which will be recorded. The footage, combined with that of the main show, will be edited to make a two hour programme, including advertisements, which then goes to television in July.
She said that the reaction from persons she approached at last year's U.S. meeting of National Association on Television Programmes Executives was extremely favourable, with the programme set to air in Japan, Brazil, Venezuela, India, China and, through a single channel, 18 countries in Africa.
"What is unique and different about this is that for the first time we are going to do a multi-continental hook-up led by persons in the African diaspora who love the music," Thomas said.
