Jamaica Is for the Music Lovers

Jamaica is for the music lovers

Posted by JaydenTerrell On 12/11/2017

The beautiful Caribbean island of Jamaica is famous for its gorgeous beaches, spectacular resorts and reggae music being the birthplace of the legendary artist Bob Marley. However, Jamaican music is not only about reggae; the island has a vibrant musical heritage, which dates back to colonial times when the island was a hub for slave labor hailing from Africa. The African slaves brought their brand of music to the island and elements such as the one-drop rhythms and the call and response technique today feature prominently in many forms of Jamaican music including reggae.

The earliest forms of Jamaican music included folk songs, gospel singing and then in the 1940’s a genre of Jamaican music called Mento emerged from the amalgamation of the sounds of Trinidadian calypso, Brazilian samba, and the Argentinian tango. Mento features the sounds a big brass drum called Mbira.

Mento was then followed by the birth of a form of music called Ska music in the 1960’s. Ska music has upbeat rhythms and American rhythm &blues influences. Soon after Ska came a transitory period during which a form of music called Rocksteady rose to prominence. This genre of Jamaican music showcased a slower beat, and it transformed into the world-famous sound of Reggae Music. Reggae, which has social messages at its core, became extremely popular not only in Jamaica but the world over. Jamaican superstars such as Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Dennis Brown, Lee Perry and others came to be household names.

If the 70’s had Reggae then by the 80’s yet another form of Jamaican music began to emerge, Dancehall. Dancehall is an edgier and grittier form of reggae that features deejays toasting (chanting) over riddims (patois for rhythm). All these various types of Jamaican music are incredibly well liked throughout the world and continue to inspire and influence a legion of global artists.

You can hear Reggae and other forms of Jamaican music all over Jamaica throughout the year but to truly immerse yourself in the island beats you need to plan your trip to Jamaica around a music festival in Jamaica. February is known as Reggae month in Jamaica and during the first week of February Jamaica celebrates the birthday of its favorite son Bob Marley. The Bob Marley foundation in Kingston organizes concerts, lectures, karaoke contests, symposiums, movies and exhibitions in and around the Bob Marley museum for the festivities. These events attract Rastafarians and music lovers in droves. Aside from Kingston, the beach resort town of Negrill also hosts the Annual Bob Marley Birthday Bash at its open-air, cliff top concert venue MXIII. This four-day musical extravaganza always draws top names from the music world.

If you cannot make down to Jamaica for these Bob Marley themed events, you may want to consider planning your trip to coincide with one of the other grand music events that the island hosts at different times during the year such the Rebel Salute and the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues festival both of which are held in January at Saint Ann Parish and Montego Bay respectively.

Or then perhaps you would like to go to Jamaica during the Jamaica Bacchanal Carnival, which kicks off in February and goes on until April and features a whole host of music and dance events as it draws more than 100,000 revelers to the island.

Also worth considering are events such as the Ochos Rios Jazz festival, which is held in the last week of, May every year or then the Reggae Sumfest which is held at Montego Bay in July.

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