With two months left before Montreal’s first International Reggae Festival, organizers held their first press conference on March 29 at the Hotel Europa, and by the looks of things, optimism is abound.
The festival will kick off on June 4 and will run until Sunday, June 6 at Montreal’s Jacques Cartier Pier at the Old Port. The Fest’s headline performers features the likes of Junior-Kelly, Junior Reid and One Blood Family, Coco Tea, Mikey Dread, Rankin Scroo, Culture, Morgan Heritage, Mikey General, Dean Fraser, with closing performances by Luciano and Half Pint.
Singer Half Pint is honoured to perform at the upcoming festival. “Being a part of [the festival] is at the heart for me,” he says. “I believe that music can soothe the beast and hunger in man … I think worldwide, music can help with understanding.”
CKUT’s Prymtym, who will host the festival, believes the event is a positive thing for Montreal.
“It’s going to affect the city financially, you know, bringing in a lot of tourists. The Montreal Children’s Hospital is going to get some proceeds, the theme of ‘United Against Violence’ [is] what this Reggae Festival is about,” he declares.
He is excited about this event and wants others to be just as enthusiastic. “Love it, don’t shove it.”
Co-host and spokesperson, Lisa Joseph, anticipates that the festival will offer over 75 live performances.
So far, the reaction to the festival has been very uplifting.
“We’ve gotten responses from all over the world in terms of media wanting to cover this event …they just want to know more about this festival,” says Joseph.
“The interest has been international…we’ve had artists from Africa, Europe, and Asia, who want to have a festival next year,” she adds.
Vice-President Ricardo Forbes admits that the number of tickets sold has already exceeded their expectations, as advertising for the festival has not yet begun.
The committee expects more than 20,000 people to attend the festival per day. Commercials will be airing on TV soon and on radio stations.
Forbes is optimistic and foresees good things for the festival’s future.
“We’d like to keep it here in Montreal and then we expect…the rest of the country and the world,” he reveals.
There are 24 co-sponsors, including TV and radio stations, magazines and newspapers, but more is to be anticipated.
Festival organizers are hoping that the city of Montreal and other levels of government will help out fund wise.
To date, the festival has received private funding and a large donation from private investors in Africa.
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Tickets are on sale for $30 on Friday, $40 for Saturday and Sunday, or $80 for a weekend pass.
The shows will begin on Friday from 4:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., Saturday from 1:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., and on Sunday from 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
For more information, consult the festival’s web site: www.montrealreggaefestival.com.
