Salute to Rebel Salute

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I KNOW of no reggae show more entertaining than Rebel Salute. The Rebel Salute brand has mushroomed into a behemoth from Tony Rebel’s birthday celebration. The show has an enormous pull on reggae lovers from all over the globe.

I happened to engage two patrons in a conversation at the recent staging. I asked if they were enjoying the show and they both happily replied “of course, it’s magnificent, we came all the way from Estonia for it”. Imagine that, Rebel Salute pulled two females from Estonia, Europe, to Jamrock.

I applaud the planning committee for this year’s event for the introduction of the Dubplate segment; it really had the patrons going into a frenzy. Our music is being studied from afar, as was obvious by Dynamq sound selector Ongele Lorya from South Sudan; he had patrons constantly shouting forward after each selection from his catalogue. One must always remember that the artiste needs the sound system (dub) to complement his/her performance.

Ideally, the land of reggae music should have at least four reggae shows similar or close to Rebel Salute each year – reggae put Jamaica on top. Various industries stand to gain with more shows.

MORE SHOWS

Rebel Salute is not only a show; it is a festival with displays of craft, art, souvenirs and real Jamaican food.

One item that should be reduced for future shows is the extended time between band changes. I suggest having a broader stage so that the incoming band can be preparing concurrently with the playing band. I have seen this happen at ReggaeJAM in Cologne, Germany, and there was no downtime as it relates to band change. Don’t keep the ‘Saluters’ waiting for too long.

CARLOS PIPHER