KINGSTON, Jamaica – Celebrated as Reggae Month in Jamaica, February also marks the birth of Bob Marley and Dennis Brown. Yet, this event gets little love in the country where the music was born.
Ewan Simpson is chairman of the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) which promotes the annual event, first held in 2008. He told South Florida Caribbean News that the significance of the series is lost to many Jamaicans.
“The ‘Month’ is intended to celebrate the reggae ecosystem which is broader than music. It is gastronomy, art, fashion, philosophy and business. The ‘Month’ is a time when we all should pool our resources to showcase what we have to the world,” he said. “We have not gotten there yet and we need the sector as well as corporate Jamaica to coalesce around this idea.”
Since it started, Reggae Month has included live shows. These shows honor the legacies of legends like Marley and Brown. Marley died in 1981, and Brown died in 1999. There are also seminars on the music’s commercial potential, as well as an awards ceremony.
2026 Reggae Month Theme: Rhythms of Resilience
This year’s Reggae Month is dubbed ‘Rhythms of Resilience’. It officially starts on February 1, Dennis Brown’s birthday. The event kicks off with ‘Honoring The Crown Prince: A Tribute to Dennis Brown,’ a concert at Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston.
That venue will host Reggae Wednesdays, a weekly concert featuring established and upcoming acts. Four JaRIA Master Classes looking at the reggae industry will also be held there.
Simpson noted that Reggae Month is still recovering following Covid-19. The pandemic forced JaRIA to stage virtual and scaled-down events for two years. Furthermore, aware of the challenges Jamaicans face in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, he sees a silver lining in the clouds.
“This Reggae Month in the immediate post-Melissa era provides a golden opportunity for us to trigger an amazing move toward product diversification through cultural tourism. This is not only for the purpose of celebrating, but also for the future of a sustainable creative economy,” Simpson said.
