All of this information assumes that you have a band website (if you have questions about how to set one up, post a comment and let me know) where your fans can find information about you. If you do have a band website, make sure to let your fans know, at shows, on posters, in your album liner notes, and everywhere else that you communicate with them.

Tell stories about yourself

It’s amazing how many new artists think their fans only want to hear the music. They often forget that many people attend dub, reggae, and dancehall shows to be entertained, expand their consciousness, and live a larger life. All of those things are about more than the music: they are about the message behind the music and about the band’s “story,” the whole experience that your band embodies. This might be as simple as forgetting their daily cares and having fun or as deep as rediscovering their roots and defining their role in this world.

Your fans want to connect with you through your story.

So tell your story on your website or blog, in your emails, Twitter stream, or Facebook account. Have a cool new concert poster? Share it. Took a goofy backstage video with your phone? Share it. Same with pictures, critical reviews, and anything else that tells your story.

This could be as simple as a Tumblr blog or as complex as a professionally-designed website. The important thing is that you share all of the things that go into your art. Your fans, especially your most dedicated fans, want to hear your whole story, hear about life on the road, learn how you write your songs.

Help your fans feel connected and they’ll be more likely to bring a friend to your show or hype your latest album.

Start small and grow over time. Make sure you do it yourself, to keep it real (some people try to outsource the storytelling, but an inauthentic story is often worse than silence).

Encourage your fans to share the news

Want someone to share your info? Ask them to do it! Again, this is something that sounds obvious, but I’m always amazed that people don’t take this simple step and ask their fans to take action and spread the word. The more specific your request is, the more likely your fans will respond.

You can improve things even more by making your content sharable. To do this, add social sharing widgets to your site. If you’re using a common blog like WordPress, this is usually as simple as adding an existing widget to your page templates. AddThis is a service that provides free widgets you can add to your website to help people share your stories with 1 click.

If you have help from a friendly tech person, you should also add Twitter’s retweet button and a Facebook Like button to all of your stories. These are trivial projects for a technical person and they go a long way towards spreading the word about what you’re up to. Facebook Like buttons are particularly useful because they post your info on the fan’s activity feed for all of her friends to see.

Encourage your fans to sign up for more

If you have a Facebook or Twitter account, make sure your fans know about it. Put links in all of your stories and tell people to follow you and friend you on every social network. This has 2 benefits for you:

1. First, it spreads the word because other people will see their friends following your dub, reggae, or dancehall music.
2. Second, it gives you another place to speak with your fans if they forget to come back to your own website.

If you’re feeling really ambitious, set up an email list and encourage your fans to sign up for email messages. You can do this with your band’s email account initially – just ask people to email you directly, and add them to your list – but you’ll need professional email management software as you grow (which many people would say is a good problem to have!)

Host your photos and videos on social sites

Going to post photos? Put them on Flickr or another social photo site, then embed them on your site. Now they live in 2 places so twice as many people can find them. The same is true for video – use YouTube (or Vimeo, if it’s a professional video) and people will find you there as well.

When you add your reggae photos and videos to other sites, be careful with the “metadata” – the title, description, and tags. Make sure they’re all very clear and mention the fact that you’re a dub, reggae, or dancehall band. That way, when people search those sites for dub, reggae, and dancehall music they’ll find you.

Share your fans’ stories

Remember, you’re not the only one telling stories: your fans are telling their own stories about your dub, reggae, or dancehall music. Make sure to shine a spotlight on their stories as well:

1. Link to their blogs and websites.
2. Retweet their tweets.
3. Repost their pictures.
4. If they’re cool with it, share their comments and feedback.

And tell stories about them too. They take pictures of you, so why not do the same for them? Take some pics of the audience from the stage so they can get inside their head. People love to see themselves, so give it to them. Post a video thanking your biggest fans. Take a moment before or after the show to get out into the crowd and make sure that experience gets back into the stories that you share.

When fans see that they’re a part of the story then they’ll become even more dedicated to supporting you. Now it’s not just you and me, it’s “us.”

Have questions about any of these tips? Post a comment. I’d also love to hear other ways that you’re getting your fans to share your story.

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2011 International Reggae and World Music Awards performances

The prestigious IRAWMA ceremony which will be held at the National Academy for Performing Arts on Saturday May 28th will offer the very best in regional talent such as Trinidad & Tobago’s own Machel Montano (pictured here, performing at a past IRAWMA celebration), She’s Royal singer Taurus Riley, and Jamaican music legends Freddie McGregor and Dean Fraser. Patrons can also look forward to dynamic performances by dancehall divas Macka Diamond and Tifa, Denise ‘Saucy Wow’ Belfon, Queen Ifrica and St. Maarten’s leading pannist and calypsonian The Mighty Dow. Reggae icons Shaggy and Tony Rebel will serve as MCs for this fun-filled evening.

Shaggy (pictured at right) will work double duty during this upcoming weekend as he will transition from the role of host to performer at the Sunday 29th May event “Reggae meets Soca/Chutney” at the Queen’s Park Savannah. At this concert spectacular Shaggy will display his Grammy Award winning talent alongside longtime cohort Rayvon and will share the stage with the cream of the Caribbean music crop including the ‘King of the Dancehall’ Beenie Man (pictured below), reggae crooner Jah Cure, Gramps Morgan (of Morgan Heritage fame), The Roy Cape All Stars with Blaxx and several chutney and soca artistes.

Attendees of these events can expect 2 world class productions complete with multi-genre all star casts and memorable surprises. As the IRAWMA weekend approaches more artistes will be announced.

The 30th IRAWMA anniversary is sponsored by Blink/Bmobile, Angostura Bitters, the Hyatt Regency Trinidad, T&T Ministry of Tourism, Tourism Development Company Limited (TDC), Tobago House of Assembly (THA), Tobago Department of Tourism (TDT), Direct Music TV America, Soca 91.9 FM, M.O.R.E. 104.7 FM, Boom Champions 94.1FM, Caribbean Rumour Mill, Jlehsiek and TrinJam Foods.

For information on IRAWMA, tickets and travel, log onto www.irawma.com or call 312-427-0266 (North America) OR 868-475-1000 (Caribbean).

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The show is celebrating 2 events in the Seattle-area indie music scene – the release of Dub Lounge International’s 3rd album, Behold and the beginning of Acorn Project’s spring tour. The event promises a fun mix of rootsy music and dance tunes to get you moving. DLI, for example, has featured Ezra Tosh (cousin of Peter Tosh), Winston “Flames” Jarrett, and Puddu Dawes (from Revelutionary Dream Band) on their past albums.

• When: Friday, April 29.
• At Nectar Lounge, 412 North 36th St in Seattle, WA (map)
• Doors open at 9pm.
• Tickets are $7 in advance, $10 at the door.
• Venue phone: (206) 632-2020.

About the acts

Dub Lounge International pays homage to the traditional forms of roots reggae, rocksteady, and live dub music as it was originally played and heard. Their blend of organic roots fulfills fans of many traditional Jamaican music genres. This event will mark their return from a West Coast tour and will be the CD release party for their 3rd album, Behold.

Bellingham, Washington’s Acorn Project are kicking off their spring tour with this show. Acorn Project boasts deep electro-funk grooves and sonic instrumental exploration, interlaced with a provocative indie-rock songwriting ability. A staple on the touring circuit of the Pacific Northwest, the group spent the past 3 years expanding their region and is a recognizable touring machine on the West Coast, British Columbia, through Colorado and the Southwest.

The Fabulous Party Boys are a young quintet of University of Washington music school veterans. They’ve been tearing up venues around the state with their brand of jazzy, experimental funk. They are not one to be missed.

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Festival organizers have predicted that more than 30 reggae music groups from Jamaica, England, South Africa, and local areas will perform during the 3-day event.

Event organizer Trevor Hall, popularly known as Ras Jabu, said this year’s edition of the festivities will be bigger and better than the previous years:

This year we want to change the actual vibe and make the festival a little bit more family friendly. Friday night will be for dancehall, while Saturday afternoon is lovers’ rock and Sunday a platform for female reggae musicians.

The festival will also see various other activities like boat rides, guided tours up the spillway, mountain climbing, nature walks, fishing, swimming and children games.

“Since it is a three-day festival it will have non-stop music and other activities that are more in line with what happens in Jamaica and the Caribbean,” Ras Jabu said.

Ras Jabu said the festival was aimed at promoting upcoming reggae musicians in line with what the late reggae legend Bob Marley and his contemporaries like Peter Tosh did.

“I knew [Bob Marley] personally and he was into assisting other artistes, that is why together with his fellow musicians he set up Tuff Gong Records and it is in that same spirit that we are also trying to promote local artistes,” he said.

There will also be arts and crafts exhibition and a flea market at the festival.

The Bob Marley Commemorations have been held in Zimbabwe since 1987 with the traditional venue being the Harare Gardens. The event seeks to celebrate the life and times of the legendary Jamaican musician who put the genre on the world map and also popularized the Rastafarian Movement.

Bob Marley was born on February 6, 1945 in Nine Miles, St Ann, Jamaica and he died on May 11 1981.

Marley was awarded the International Peace Medal by the African delegation to the United Nations in 1978. He was also an official guest at Zimbabwe’s Independence celebrations in 1980, an honor Marley was quoted as saying was the highest he’d ever received.

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We have all been moved by the human catastrophe that has visited the country of Japan in recent weeks. Needless to say, the initial earthquake followed by the threat of deadly radiation have exacted an unbearable and miserable toll on the Japanese people. Even though we are miles away from the epicenter of the Japanese earthquake, and the eminent threat of radiation, the palpable suffering of the Japanese people reverberates world wide. We here at LinkUp Media Group of Companies feel duty-bound to assist the people of Japan. So, we have planned a charitable fund raising concert, dubbed “JAMROCK FOR JAPAN.” This is our way of letting the Japanese people, and by extension the world, know that we stand together in time of distress, and we recognize that there is this common thread of humanity that binds us together as a people, whether we are right here in the United States or as far away as Japan. Let’s come out and support this cause, it is our way helping our fellow human beings who are suffering in Japan.

JAMROCK FOR JAPAN will be held on Monday, April 18th, 2011 at SOBs, located at 204 Varick Street, New York NY.
Doors will open promptly at 7pm.
This charitable event will be hosted by 93.5 FM LinkUp Radio Broadcaster and Publisher of JAMROCK Magazine, David “Squeeze” Annakie.

Our headliner for this phenomenal event, is Mr. Vegas. Mr. Vegas is a well-known humanitarian and one of Reggae’s most influential and talented musician. “Throughout the years, Vegas has continued to release well-crafted singles which has ensured his status as one of the most consistent and in-demand acts in the business.” The singjay has appeared on all of the Reggae industry’s major shows in the Caribbean. “In addition to blasting his way through the Caribbean, Mr. Vegas has also thrilled fans in Europe, the U.S. and Japan with highly rated performances.” Mr. Vegas will perform an array of songs that will keep the crowd begging for more.

We have invited Politicians, Entertainers (Reggae and R&B), Models, Actors, which includes members of the Japanese Community. Music will be provided by LinkUp Radio DJs- Kevin Crown, Fatta Diamond, DJ Wayne, Paul Michael and Dezzie. They will spin the best in all genres of music.

Admission for this charitable event is $20. However, we encourage you to give additional donation from your heart. To make a pledge ahead of time please send an email to rsvp@jamrockmagazine.com or text JAMROCK to 25827.

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Early bird tickets are selling for $25 each for the first 200 tickets sold. You can get them at the official LYME website (see the URL below).

The LYME Festival 2011 will include 3 performance stages as well as a geodesic dome featuring electronica music. Artists will perform in musical genres including reggae, rock, bluegrass, and ska music.

The 2011 Love Your Mother Earth lineup is still being announced. Current expected acts include:

• Signal Path
• Cure for the Common
• Smoke Sign
• Missoula Sea of Flames

The annual Love Your Mother Earth music festival focuses on combining the latest music with environmental awareness to help attendees learn about composting, recycling, organic farming, alternative energy sources, and the use of non-toxic products, all over the course of several days of camping and performances.

In addition to the selection of reggae and other music, the Love Your Mother Earth Festival features workshops, info booths, events for kids and families, a bio-diesel shuttle, and a selection of merchants offering environmentally friendly goods.

You can find the official Love Your Mother Earth website at www.loveyourmotherearthfestival.com and they seem to post the most recent info on their Facebook page.

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The official police story is that Smiley, born David Emmanuel, killed himself by stabbing a knife into his heart after the police had surrounded his house. He was 48 when he died.

Born in 1963, Smiley Culture was a reggae singer / deejay who was best known for his ‘fast chat’ style. He released 2 of the most critically-acclaimed reggae singles of the 1980s. The first is his Police Officer reggae song, which hit #12 on the UK pop music charts back in 1985. It is based on his own experiences being caught carrying marijuana and then escaping arrest because the police officers recognize him as a popular singer and offering an autograph.

Smily is also famous for his previous single, 1984′s Cockney Translation song, which shared the experience of being black in Britain and trying to also preserve one’s West Indian roots by explaining his cockney rhymes in a Caribbean accent.

Smiley Culture is far more famous in the UK than here in the United States. He has shared work with Maxi Priest and appeared in David Bowie‘s 1986 film Absolute Beginners. Other British musicians including as DJ Luck, MC Neat, and Roots Manuva, have described him as a major influence on their work, Roots Manuva having described Smiley as a “Britrap pioneer.”

This is the 2nd time Culture has appeared in the news under cloudy circumstances: last year he faced a judge for charges of conspiracy to supply cocaine. His was out on bail and his trial was scheduled to begin on March 21, 2011.

The British Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating Smiley Culture’s death.

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Buju Banton will be sentenced in by Judge James S. Moody Jr., in a Tampa, Florida court. He was found guilty last February of 3 charges including conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute 5 kilograms of cocaine, using a communication facility in the commission of a felony, and knowingly and intentionally possessing a firearm in furtherance of and during the course of a drug-trafficking crime.

Banton was found not guilty on a 4th charge, attempting to possess 5 kilograms or more of cocaine.

All told, the charges could result in a sentencing of 30 years to life in prison.

The reggae singer, born Mark Anthony Myrie, is still in prison after being convicted. His defense attorneys have filed a motion for a new trial and an acquittal. The prosecuting attorneys are battling against it, claiming the motion is “without merit.”

Buju Banton recently won a 2011 Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album for his 10th studio album, Before The Dawn.

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This year I made a visit to Sao Luis in northeast Brazil which is the centre of roots reggae music in the whole of Brazil. This was part of my break from the tour I was doing in Recife and Olinda where I launched my new african reggae album Povo.

I do a dub session on Ujima Radio in Bristol UK every other Thursday from 11pm – 1am. The reason of going to the Brazil Reggae land was to find out why Brazil is still dealing with roots reggae as well as record the Dubvision session there for some positive vibes.

I met some of the promoters of reggae music there and old friends like Sydney Crook of The Pioneers fame who all filled me in on the reggae happenings. While we sit and wonder what happened to some of the reggae legends, Brazil is busy enjoying them performing in their beaches and venues. Mr Danilo, (introduced to me by David Katz the author of a Lee Perry book) runs a venue by the beach which only opens on Sundays and was the last man to produce an album with Gregory Isaacs. When I was there he showed me some of the reggae artists and one of the artists playing at Carnival was Kevin Isaacs (Gregory Iaasacs’ son).

I managed to record my two hour dub session which can be heard tonight on http://www.ujimaradio.com

I have also managed to set up a system for you to download the two hour session for free if you visit the following Dubvision.net page:
http://www.dubvision.net/dj_pax_nindi/sessions

Thanks
djpax@dubvision.net

About DJ Pax Nindi

DJ Pax Nindi is a Dub DJ specializing in original roots dub music. Pax commented “I love Dub and its most artistic ways of creating roots music and know this music will live forever”.

With his African Roots Reggae outfit Harare Dread, Pax is the first African artists to make dub music with the rhythms of Africa. He now broadcasts dub sessions in the name of DUBVISION on various radio stations e.g. Anastesia Radio in Recife and Ujima Radio in Bristol UK.

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The action flick is heavily rooted in Barrington Levy’s Gangsters soundtrack, which includes performances by Vybz Kartel and DJ Khago. The movie aspires to show the gritty reality of Jamaican inner city criminals via the arc of one character’s immigration to Philadelphia. Barrington Levy will lead as a Philadelphia criminal kingpin, alongside costar Paul Campbell (who fans will recognize from Shottas and First Sunday) as a cold-blooded Jamaican assassin who travels to the States to take out the competition. The story reaches a fever pitch as Campbell’s character targets rival gangsters, drug dealers, and other criminals.

Gangstas is being produced by Platinum Camp, in association with Black Roses Entertainment and Augustus Films. Wyclef Jean and Twin of Twins are also named as leading the project. The film’s creators promise a uniquely Caribbean flavor by injecting the action thriller with “a dose of voodoo and a hint of comedy.”

Shooting for Gangstas is scheduled to begin in April 2011.

Get cast as an extra in Gangstas

Augustus Films, led by Daddy Bigg$ and Caesar Augustus, are currently casting local talent for roles as extras. If you’re interested in appearing alongside Barrington Levy in Gangstas, you can reach them at platinumcamp@gmail.com, follow them on Twitter or Facebook, or call 917-720 CAMP for more information.

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