Jamaica Tours, Guides and Vacations

Thursday night was Dancehall Night for Reggae SumFest 2008 and it was a great show with some of the biggest names in Jamaican music on hand for a show which proved to be an arresting experience for Bounty Killer and lots of fun for me and a few thousand others. It was my first backstage experience with permission to interview artists and straight up I was out gunned. Me and my little JVC handheld camera could not compete with the professional level equipment and setups that the big players had. These guys came prepared to interview and they got all the interviews they wanted. I was able to get some great pictures and hang out with lots of the artists but the few interviews I did do were horrible as the lighting was crap and the noise in the room made it almost impossible to hear anything beyond the crowds of people. My mission over the next year is to invest in a better video camera and audio microphone for interviewing people properly. I’ll be better prepared for next year presspass access.

I spent much of the evening in the press tent and missed much of the show hanging out backstage with other press people and lesser known artists like Jamaican culture artist Nature and more popular stars like Anthony B and Macka Diamond to name a few. I spent more time with the press people and the event turned more into a networking opportunity as I met many of the top people in the Jamaican music business. I discussed working with a number of artists in developing and promoting their music online and I think the evening went well for me in that regards. I already have lots of work to do from this show and I’ll probably be busy until next years event.

I got some decent photos from the show with lots more to write about in the coming days and weeks but here are some pics from Thursday Night Dancehall night at Sumfest 2008.

Sun sets before the first evening of Reggae Sumfest 2008

Nature interviewed by BBC Radio

Shane-O Backstage SumFest 2008

Hype TV Interviews Serani

Danielle D at Reggae Sumfest 2008

Voice Mail at Reggae Sumfest 2008

Harry Toddler at Reggae SumFest 2008

Jamaican Musician Spice at Reggae SumFest 2008

Macka Diamond at Reggae Sumfest 2008

Anthony B interviewed at Reggae SumFest

Elephant Man at Reggae SumFest 2008

The Crowd at Reggae SumFest 2008

I’m backstage at SumFest in the press booth with lots of important Jamaicans from places like the Gleaner, TVJ and CVM. There are quite a few press people here and they all look far more professional than me and my blog. I did meet one couple from England who are here to blog the event and also are writing a book on their adventures.

We’re both excited about the opportunity we have to interview some top Jamaican musicians. I’m waiting to get my name on a list with my choices for interviews. I’m hoping to meet with Elephant Man and Mavado this evening and possible Beenie Man if he’s taking interviews. I don;t know that I’ll get that far in all of this but I am certainly going to be interviewing someone.

I’ll keep posting as the night goes on. Anyone here want to give me a call at 876-865-8680

It seems like all of Jamaica is getting ready for Sumfest 2008 and I know I am excited about the line-up for each evening. My good friend Ras Slick has an opening slot for Thursday evening so I’ll be there for that for sure and my new buddy Anthony Able will be performing on Friday evening so I guess I’ll be there for that also. I may not make Saturday as I will have the kids with me and they probably cannot handle that much.

Anyone else planning on going to Sumfest 2008?

Here is the lineup and schedule at the Official Sumfest Website.