COVID-19 silences European festivals
Roots singer Pablo Moses often refers to Europe as his bread basket because of that region’s bountiful festival circuit. this year, because of the coronavirus, that bough went bare.
All the major festivals in Europe were cancelled. Those include the largest — Summerjam in Germany and Rototom Sunsplash in Spain.
Other noted festivals taking a time out were Reggae Geel in Belgium, Upsala in Sweden and Ostroda which is held in Poland.
The decision to cancel came in May as the coronavirus spread in larger countries like Germany, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom.
It was no different in the United States where old stagers like Reggae On The River and the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival in California were cancelled.
Copeland Forbes, veteran tour manager and booking agent, has worked the European circuit for over 40 years. Even with a vaccine on the market to combat the virus, he does not see a return to action in 2021.
“If anything is going to happen it’s going to be
2022, especially outdoors which draw huge crowds. There are going to be lots of announcements (from festival organisers) by February,” Forbes predicted.
While artistes are the biggest income losers from live events in Europe and the United States, musicians were also hurt in the pockets. Delroy “Wormbass” Niven is one of them.
He told the Jamaica observer that normally he spends as many as six months on the road. Last year was a busy one; Niven toured with Inna de Yard, a collective of veteran artistes who were promoting a documentary of the same name.
“Well, this has been the first time being off the road during the tour season throughout my career. It has basically turned my schedule upside down during this time of year and has resulted in all of my shows being cancelled. However, we’ve risen to the occasion in overcoming challenges such as finding other means of generating income and interacting with my fans,” he explained.
Niven added that his situation is not unique.
“The present circumstances does indeed present each of my colleagues with their own challenges. Some may be centred around income while others around opportunities to collaborate and create music overseas. However, like myself we have made good use of the technology of the time to bridge the gap,” he said.
Because their albums are not mega sellers like their pop counterparts, touring is a lucrative alternative for most reggae acts. Since the 1970s when roots-reggae exploded, Jamaican acts have represented the music strongly in Europe, North America and Asia.
The Asian market has declined in recent years, but new outposts have emerged in South America and Africa where roots/dancehall music acts attract big crowds.