In the world of entertainment, reggae festivals are big business.
Some 60 reggae festivals will be held worldwide in the month of July, but Jamaican acts make up only about 25 per cent of the line-up, with the other 75 per cent being foreign acts who have made their name doing reggae music.
Anthony B will be making stops in Italy and Germany during his tour.
In fact, seven reggae festivals do not even have a single Jamaican act with eight having only one.
Jamaican acts don't have a monopoly on the genre, according to an organiser of one of Europe's largest reggae festivals - SummerJam.
"There are extraordinary talents out of Europe who are able to headline our festival. Acts who have toured the country (Germany) from the tiny little venues to big ones and concert halls," Arnulf Woock, of Contour Festival Organisations which founded SummerJam, told the Sunday Observer. "Without these artistes, we would never be in a position to sell 25,000 or 30,000 (tickets)."
SummerJam, which started Friday, has 15 of its 55 acts from Jamaica or 27 per cent. This is higher than the worldwide average, but what keeps the figure from rising are European acts. For instance, SummerJam actually booked more artistes this year, in order to "attract the same number of people", said Woock, but it was not confined to Jamaica. Woock also said that dancehall acts are in even less demand than local reggae stars at festivals.
"(Dancehall acts) are mainly attracting a young audience," said Woock by e-mail. "Nevertheless we have tried to book one or more - but we have not found enough shows to set up a tour. This was maybe because of the recession."
Capleton set to tour the US
He added that the message within dancehall at times contradicts the message of a unity festival.
"Dancehall artistes are too extreme with their lyrics, many people in their thirties do not understand. From our opinion a festival should be a 'weekend off' - with togetherness and positive vibes. Roots Reggae is positive music," he said.
Deejay Buju Banton will be touring heavily to support his new album. And this month he will perform at festivals in Germany, Amsterdam, Italy and Spain.
Other acts on tour include Anthony B in Italy and Germany, Terry Linen in Amsterdam and Germany, whilst The Wailers, Capleton, Chino, and Laden will tour the US. There is no Mavado (who goes to Japan next month to support his new album) nor Vybz Kartel or Bounty Killer for these festivals. But Beenie Man has a gig in Italy at Rototom Sunsplash and Spragga Benz and Capleton also have festivals.
One non-Jamaican act who is enjoying a good season is Italian reggae singer, Albarosie. He kicked off his Escape From Babylon European tour in June and this continues through to August. Albarosie is accompanied by opening act, female singer I-Eye, a finalist in last year's Festival Song Competition.
Manager/producer, Clifton 'Specialist' Dillon - who returned to the island last week, having been on the road with the artistes - told Sunday Observer that the response has been overwhelming as they have been attracting full houses across Europe. "Albarosie is touring on his new album Escape From Babylon and from Norway to France to Italy, it has so far been extremely encouraging. And I-Eye has really done herself and the Festival Song Competition proud," he said.
No other month of the year has as many festivals as July. There were two in June and 40 will be in August based on reggae festival tracker site reggaefestivalguide.com. Here is a list of some of the festivals and the line-up:
. SummerJam July 3 in Germany - 15 of the 55 acts are Jamaican including Bunny Wailer, Anthony B, Buju Banton, and Ward 21;
. Rototom Sunsplash, July 2-11, 09 in Italy - 18 to 54 acts are Jamaican including Junior Kelly, Beenie Man, The Congos, Freddie McGregor, Buju Banton and Capleton;
. Reggus 4 July in Spain has Derrick Morgan as the only Jamaican;
. Festival Afrique-Carib in the Netherlands on July 5th - three of 12 acts are Jamaican including Bushman, Junior Kelly, Prince Malachi featuring Ras Ites;
. Two 7's Splash Festival in Amsterdam, 5 July - an all- Jamaican line-up including Bunny Wailer, Buju Banton, Etana, Irie Love, Morgan Heritage, Terry Linen;
. Ska Fest, Canada on July 8 -11- none of the 23 bands are Jamaican;
. Nova Reggae Festival in Barcelona, Spain July 10 to 12 - three of 13 artistes from Jamaica, namely Leonard Dillon of the Ethiopians, U-Roy and Pablo Moses;
. Soma Festival July 10 to 11 in Koln, Germany - none of the nine sounds and live musicians are Jamaican;
. 7th Sol Harvest Festivus for the restivus July 17 -19 in US - two of 19 acts are Jamaican, namely Barrington Levy and Earl Chinna Smith;
. Purple Haze dubbed California's largest pro-marijuana music festival, has only Eek-A-Mouse as the Jamaican act;
. Oland Roots July 24 - 25 in Sweden has two of its 18 acts from Jamaica, namely U-Roy and Pablo Moses;
. Reeds Festival July 24-25 2009 in Switzerland - three of the 10 acts are from Jamaica, namely Shaggy, Glen Washington and Ce'cile;
. Sunflower Festival July 24 to 26 in Germany - none of the eight acts are from Jamaica;
. Sea Breeze Festival 12th Anniversary - six of the nine artistes are Jamaican including Luciano, Tanya Stephens, Elephant Man, Wayne Wonder and Spragga Benz.
