Get Ready for the Montreal International Reggae Festival 2005

I ended my report on last year’s Montreal International Reggae Festival by fervently hoping it would happen again. Obviously I wasn’t the only one, because voilá, the festival will reappear, 13½ months later, on July 15-17, 2005, at the same location. A mid-summer’s dream, I’d say. Je pense que ce sera un vrai spectacle.

According to the festival’s Web site (www.montrealreggaefestival.com), a few of last year’s artists are returning, like Jimmy Riley, Morgan Heritage, Abijah, Mikey Dread and Rankin’ Scroo, the last of whom had the snappiest chapeau of the weekend first time around, and all of whom gave memorable performances. New to the festival are such reggae stalwarts as Gregory Isaacs, John Holt, Yellowman, Sugar Minott and Brinsley Forde of Aswad fame, along with lots of others—some renowned, some semi-famous, and some just emerging into the reggae world.

That mixture of the familiar and the unfamiliar follows the model set last year, and is a big part of the ongoing vision the organizers have of the festival. Their other overriding objective is to be a “reggae celebration against violence,” which we can definitely stand. In fact, their broad mission statement includes peace, love and understanding of all sorts. That may be reason enough to admire the festival from afar; but the quality of the artists is what takes a fan beyond distant admiration to close-up enjoyment. Given the artists and the historic “Old Port” of Montreal as location, there should be “pas de problem” with that.