The wait is over! Reggae Sumfest is back and is promised to be better than ever. The world had been put on pause for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic and Reggae Sumfest was no exception. Reggae Sumfest 2020 was a virtual event and while it was very entertaining, nothing truly compares to having a live show. Fans are in for a treat this year as the line-up for Reggae Sumfest 2022 is a very good one and they should enjoy themselves with most of the current popular acts billed over the two-day live shows.
In light of his busy schedule, especially with preparing for this year’s staging of Reggae Sumfest in July, Chairman and CEO of Downsound Entertainment (producers of
Reggae Sumfest) spoke with us re Covid-19 and Sumfest and what patrons can expect.
Covid-19 did shut the entertainment industry down for two years which was very devastating to a lot of persons. When asked how Covid-19 affected Sumfest directly, Mr. Bogdanovich said: “The impact of COVID-19 resulted in a complete lock down of the entertainment industry. Naturally, this made it impossible for promoters and producers of large events, such as Reggae Sumfest, to host events. By March 2020, we were significantly ahead in the planning stages of the festival when Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced the activation of the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA) which mandated an end to all gatherings. Everything came to a standstill. It was devastating for the industry.”
Although the industry was shut down, the producers of Sumfest came up with the idea to host a virtual concert instead. “When it became clear that the industry would not reopen for the 2020 traditional staging, the decision was made to transfer all energies into producing a historic virtual concert. Ofcourse, we already had artistes confirmed for the live show, so it was a matter of aligning a number of those acts onto the virtual stage.