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Home , Black Uhuru, Dennis Brown, Flourgon, Freddie McGregor, Gregory Isaacs, Half Pint

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SUNSPLASHIN' THE U.S. By M. PEGGY QUATTRO

The most successful foreign tour for Synergy Productions' Sunsplash showcase has to be the U.S. Since the first tour in 1985, Sunsplash USA has grown to become the most professional reggae tour organized in the States. L.A. -based Avalon Attractions, which has been booking R'4, neygae the USA shows for six years, has watched the interest level grow eee4'tee from the 1,100 fans who came to the first San Diego show to the 9,000 who now almost fill the Irvine Meadows venue in Or- ange County, Calif. Says Avalon GM Moss Jacobs, "Sunsplash USA shows are historically peaceful and non -violent gatherings ... as opposed to the more 'gang boy' lifestyle." From humble beginnings where a scant 21 shows were pre- sented, Sunsplash USA now boasts some 42 shows booked for 1990. "We played 32 outdoor venues [amphitheaters] last year," says Synergy's Tony Johnson, "We never got rained out ras ... but we did play in the rain." Featured artists on the American leg of the tour have includ- REGGAE JAMDOWN: The RAS Tapes ed the , , Freddie McGregor, Den- RCD 20151/RACS nis Brown, , Sophia George, , Pato Ban- minutes music ton, Steel Pulse, , Toots, , Gregory 70 of Isaacs, and Third World. A survey of modern reggae styles, from and "California has always been strongest in terms of response," rub -a -dub styles to and redemption sounds, all derived says Johnson, "Hawaii is always a warm crowd. But the Great from the exceptional RAS Records catalogue. This is the Real Woods Performing Center in Mansfield, Mass. has consistently Authentic Sound, the state of reggae in the 80's and 90's. been one of our favorite locations. It was there that we had our largest single crowd, over 10,000 fans from all over New En- "An excellent introduction to the music by sampling gland." some of the genre's most accessible, yet authentic , Not content with producing these festivals and touring the artists." world, Synergy has also amassed an impressive collection of au- -- AUSTIN AMERICAN- STATESMAN dio and visual recordings beginning with "Cool Runnings-The Reggae Movie" followed by the 1983 live record collection, and the Sunsplash video collection. The video collection includes: "Splashin' The Palace" with Black Uhuru, Sly & Robbie, , , and more; "The Sunsplash 10th Anniversary " with Ti- ger, Peter Metro and Dominick; " Dancehall '88" with Sanchez, Josey Wales, and Admiral Bailey; "The Best Of Reggae Sunsplash Vol. 1" with , , George Isaacs, and John Holt; and "Reggae Sunsplash Dance - hall '89" with , Lady G, Ninja Man, , and Lt. Stitchie. Two additional videos are to be released soon. TOWERING DUB INFERNO: The ROIR Tapes The USA tour is currently traveling the country, concluding RCD 20152/RACS on July 8 in New York. Then it's back to Montego Bay for Sun- 60+ minutes of music splash 12, scheduled for July 16 -21, in its final presentation at Available for the first time on CD the Bob Performing Center. Fourteen cuts of pulsing, space -age from the masters of Synergy has awarded National Promotions Syndicate of the form, including Lee "Scratch" Perry, , Black Uhuru,

North Miami, Fla. exclusive rights to film and market the video , and Prince Far 1, collected from the vaults of the of Reggae Sunsplash 12 featuring , Third World, cassette -only ROIR label. Steel Pulse, Dennis Brown, , Mighty Diamonds, Foundation, Donovan, Half Pint and others. NPS is also working "An easy candidate for the best dub compilation ever." closely with MTV to promote the concert and air exclusive MTV --TOWER PULSE footage. Larry Keyser, president of National Promotions Syndicate and project executive producer, says "offers for a double -live SOON COME: Lots more great reggae from RYKODISC release from various labels are currently being considered. "From an artistic standpoint, the material has a vibe that is simply overwhelming. From a production standpoint, the state - of- the -art equipment delivers a powerful, clean product." Keyser also cites the opportunity to package the festival into a R radio series and promote tie -ins with Jamaican travel and pre- mium giveaways. Reggae Sunsplash, the world's biggest reggae festival, began RYKODISC USA RYKODISC Pickering Wharf Bldg C-3G Montego Originally designed to fill ho- in 1978 in Bay, . Salem MA 01970 tels in the off -summer season, it did not take long for it to do 508 744 7678 just that. Synergy Productions Ltd., formed by four young Ja- maicans -Tony Johnson, Don Greene, Ronnie Burke, and John Wakeling- proved that reggae music, properly presented, could and would become an international tourist attratction. What began as an idea to boost tourism in Jaimaica has be- come a major boom for reggae worldwide.

CREDITS: Editor, Maureen Sheridan, Billboard's correspon- dent in Jamaica; Editorial by Michael Conally, a writer/pho- tographer based in Kingston, M. Peggy Quattro, editor/pub- lisher of Reggae Report based in Miami, and Amy Wachtel, writer /broadcaster (as "Night Nurse') specializing in reg- gae and based in New York; Photo Editor, Brad Metzger,. As- sistant Photo Editors, Maureen Sheridan, Jan Salzman, Mitchell Newberger; Cover background photography, Lee Abel; Cover & design, Steve Stewart.

BILLBOARD JUNE 9, 1990 A Billboard Spotlight R-23