Making my music bucket list
SCROLLING THROUGH my timeline on Instagram and leafing through WhatsApp statuses, I realise that I was probably the only one who didn’t attend Reggae Sumfest 2019.
Such is life. I actually had a pretty good chance to source a couple of tickets for one of the nights, but I would have had to find accommodation somewhere.
Not a fan of sleeping in my car. So I had to decline. Ah, another Sumfest missed. So it go.
It dawned on me in that moment when I turned the tickets down that I have never been to any major music festival.
I’ve never been to Sting, never been to Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues, not Sunsplash, none of those things.
Even on the party circuit, I haven’t done much participating.
On the campus of The University
of the West Indies, I never attended a final fête or any of those parties.
When I was a younger adult, stage shows like Sashi, the Dream Weekend events, and parties like Osmosis were all the rage for my peers.
Many of my classmates from high school and university, and then later on my co-workers, would regale me with tales of their experiences at these events.
I remember thinking taking in the stories with one part genuine interest, and three parts envy.
Now that I’m older, there are even more premium events around, from SPF Weekend to BRT and a plethora of breakfast parties. Yours truly has never attended even one degeh degeh one.
As for New Year’s Eve, well, that’s another story.
You name the event, I’ve never attended. Absinthe? Nope. Frenchmen? Uh-huh. Xclusive? Yeah, right.
MY LAME EXCUSE
For a good portion of those years, that is before age 27, I could argue that it I didn’t attend these things because I didn’t drive.
In hindsight, that was simply not true. I remember attending a few ‘regular’ events by securing the necessary taxi ride, so I could have gone if I’d wanted to.
Truth is, I guess I felt that some of those events were ‘above my level’. They were certainly above my pay grade, but which A-list, allinclusive party isn’t?
I remember perusing the papers and seeing the many photos of the event coverage, and maybe a part of me felt like I wouldn’t have ‘fit in’.
So I’m thinking about creating a music bucket list. It’s just like a regular bucket list, except that it focuses squarely on musical events that I would like to attend before taking my dirt nap.
So locally, I’d like to get to a Sumfest. If they ever revive Sting, I’d like to experience one of those editions too. Beach J’Ouvert? Sure, why not.
In the Caribbean, Trinidad Carnival has to be on the list, as well as Barbados’ Crop Over.
Further overseas, going to Glastonbury would be nice. And I’d like to take in a live performance (of any performer) at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado.
Oh, and if I could somehow see Garth Brooks sing Friends
In Low Places live (with the unofficial third verse), that would be awesome. ■ Tell me your music bucket list at daviot.kelly@gleanerjm.com.
I’m thinking about creating a music bucket list. It’s just like a regular bucket list, except that it focuses squarely on musical events that I would like to attend before taking my dirt nap.