10 years of a Barbados Reggae Festival....supposed to be a celebration. However, this is my observation. In 10 years of a reggae festival there is not one single Bajan act who can command a time slot on any of the major shows other than to sing for the trees and birds....i.e shortly after the gates open. Thats how far we have developed in those 10 years. In those 10 years we have seen more and more musicians and artistes struggle to make a dollar than probably since the 1950s. Gone is the vibrant nightclub scene which I and a host of others of my generation and before benefitted from. We need an industry and I cant help but wonder what development could be possible if a fraction of the money that is spent sponsoring a festival could be raised to help develop cultural industry here. A whole shituation that spends a load of money bringing in foreign acts to line the pockets of a few but really has done precious little for the cultural landscape of Barbados for Barbadians. Maybe while the minister of tourism and that lot are busy hobnobbing with the promoters for VIP tickets they could come up with a plan to take something from each ticket sold to go towards developing our young talented artistes. An artist development fund. This way the greedy will really be helping to advance our country instead of just trying to fill their pockets and feed the appetite of a people that dont and are not really encouraged to support their own. I have purposely not mentioned the bajan reggae night because it simply doesnt register on my radar in the context of this festival. Anyway.....lets see where we are in the next 10 years. Less hype....more substance.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Apr 2014 12:19:40 +0000
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