At the start of July, the world will be consumed by Reggae music.
For 24 hours, International Reggae Day (IRD) Festival – a global media festival – will celebrate the best of Jamaica’s creativity and contributions worldwide.
The annual July 1 event will claim major cities from the hub of Kingston, Jamaica to London to New York.
According to a press release, IRD was designed “as an annual celebration to reinforce Kingston, Jamaica as the culturally authentic home of the global phenomenon known as Reggae music.”
Showcasing Reggae’s cultural contributions through media, technology and lifestyle events across the globe, various parties, art exhibits and more will pop up on July 1.
Introduced as an annual festival in 1994, IRD celebrations have always been grounded in Kingston, Jamaica but have spread to New Zealand and South Florida (2003), Kenya and Brazil (2010) and many more cities. The music festival has included concerts, workshops, lectures, award ceremonies, product launches, fashion shows, art exhibits and more.
This year, IRD’s theme is the “Jamaican Sound System Movement” for the pioneering impact, development and internationalization of Jamaican Music and culture. The New York celebration will be hosted at Spur Tree Lounge located on Orchard Street between Delancey and Grand streets with a VIP Lifestyle Party featuring DJ Gravey with guest selectors, food and drink specials.
Alongside various lifestyle parties stretching from London to Honolulu, a social media campaign, retail promotion and special playlists, interviews, contests and more will be available.
The IRD 2015 Awards will honor iconic Jamaican sound system innovators including: King Jammy, Stone Love Movement, Merritone Music, Prince Buster’s Voice of the People, the late Louise Fraser Bennett, the Sound System Federation and Japanese sound system Might Crown.
Follow the hashtags #ThisIsMyReggae and #ThisIsMyKingston to globally connect with everyone celebrating. For more information about events worldwide, visit iregg
