Shaggy and Birch rounded up a who’s who of Caribbean artists to appear on Rise Again, including:

• Sean Paul
• Sean Kingston
• Tessanne Chin
• Etana
• Haitian artiste Belo
• Barbadian artists Alison Hinds, Shontelle Layne, and Edwin Yearwood
• Trinidadian soca artists David Rudder, Kees Dieffenthaller, and Destra Garcia

After being approached by Digicel to write the song, Shaggy went straight into the studio with Christopher Birch, producer of his diamond-selling album Hot Shots. The song was written in less than a day and the riddim produced in 5 days. An international cast of reggae, pop, dancehall, soca, and other musical artists such as Sean Paul and Sean Kingston quickly joined the lineup to lend their talent and support. Rise Again is being released worldwide and 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the Digicel Haiti Relief Fund.

Speaking about the launch of the song, Shaggy said:

Rise Again is for the people of Haiti. It is to show them that we are here for them and that we will support them each step of the way as they begin rebuilding their lives which were shattered by the earthquake. I am very proud of this song and the collaboration with Digicel. With today’s launch of Rise Again, we can raise much needed funds to support the relief efforts in Haiti.

Digicel Group CEO Colm Delves said

As part of the Digicel Haiti Relief Fund, we wanted to collaborate with international artists to produce a song that would support the people of Haiti who lost so much as a result of the earthquake. People across the world can purchase Rise Again and all proceeds will go directly to the relief efforts in Haiti.

Rise Again is already making waves in the US with E! News carrying a preview of the song on the E!TV Entertainment News.

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Reggae Sumfest was originally founded to promote reggae music and has grown to include dancehall as well, generally using a 3-day formula that involves 1 night of dancehall music performances and 2 nights of reggae performances. Every year, Reggae Sumfest attracts more than 30,000 international reggae fans and local Jamaicans. This “Mecca of reggae music festivals” showcases the best reggae, dancehall, R&B, and hip hop artists in a festive Jamaican atmosphere where attendees enjoy local Jamaican cuisine, arts, and crafts.

Reggae Sumfest 2009 is organized by IRAWMA-award-winning Summerfest Productions, who are promising this year’s event will be another “one to remember.” The event kicks off with a reggae party on the beach on July 19, followed by 3 additional days of live reggae music. Reggae Sumfest has also amassed some of the best 2009 dancehall acts for a special Dancehall Night on Thursday, July 23.

Reggae Sumfest 2009 dates

Summerfest Productions has scheduled Reggae Sumfest 2009 for 4 evenings of reggae spanning the 4th week of July in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Sumfest 09 is the 17th staging of “the greatest reggae show on earth,” with performance dates including:

• Sunday July 19, 2009 – Reggae Beach Party
• Thursday July 23, 2009 – Dancehall Night
• Friday July 24, 2009 – Sumfest International Night
• Saturday July 25, 2009 – Sumfest International Night 2

Reggae Sumfest 2009 lineup

The Reggae Sumfest organizers have confirmed some of the best 2009 reggae singers for their lineup, including Tarrus Riley, Etana, Coco Tea, and Morgan Heritage. The 2009 Sumfest organizers have expanded into dancehall music performers in recent years, and this year’s festival boasts some of the best 2009 dancehall acts, including Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Vybz Kartel, Mavado, Busy Signal, and Elephant Man. This powerhouse combination of roots reggae, lovers rock, and dancehall is “truly shaping up to be an entertainment explosion,” according to the organizers.

Reggae Sumfest Beach Party

Reggae Sumfest kicks off on Sunday July 19 with the Beach Party, where gates will open at 2pm on Cornwall Beach. The Beach Party will be Emcee’d by Allen Ranks. Sumfest Beach Party reggae acts include:

• Errol Lee & the Bare Essentials
• Cameal Davis
• Khalil
• Timeka Marshall
• ZJ Ice
• DJ Mix Master Marvin
• Crazy Neil
• Danger Zone sound system
• Super Strong sound system

Reggae Sumfest Jagra Dancehall Night

The Jagra Dancehall Night on Thursday July 23rd is the most hotly-anticipated night of the Sumfest event. GT Taylor from IRIE FM and Richie B from Hot 102 will MC the evening’s performances from established dancehall legends, such as Beenie Man and Mavado, as well as new acts.

Beenie Man, the King of the Dancehall, AKA The Doctor has returned from Reggae Sumfest 2008, when he closed out the previous Dancehall Night with an incredible performance in his usual exhuberant style. Bounty Killer will be joining Beenie Man along with Mavado. The Gully Gadd‘s eerie dancehall vocals will float off his latest release, Mr Brooks… A Better Tomorrow, and onto the Sumfest stage where he will be joined by Alliance dancehall artiste Busy Signal. Expect Busy Signal to perform his international dancehall hits Pon Di Edge, Stamma, Trading Places, and Tic Toc. Charley Black will join the lineup with his hilariously horny dancehall lyricism.

• Beenie Man
• Bounty Killer
• Vybz Kartel & the Portmore Empire
• Mavado
• Elephant Man
• Busy Signal
• Assassin
• Spice
• Kip Rich
• Flippa Mafia
• Macka Diamond
• Lady Saw
• D’Angel
• Demarco
• I-Octane
• Voice Mail
• Stacious
• Bugle
• Spryng I
• Nature
• Prodigal Son
• Charly Black
• Poor & Boasy

Reggae Sumfest International Night

Following an evening of dancehall madness, conscious reggae vibes take the stage on Friday as reggae supergroup Morgan Heritage will recollect after a year of solo projects such as Mojo Morgan‘s Got Mojo release. Still riding high on his release of The Universal Cure (featuring Junior Reid, Flo-Rida, and Mavado), Jah Cure is a welcome addition to any Jamaican reggae performance. Veteran reggae singer Coco Tea rounds out a rich reggae lineup sure to move the hearts and feet of any reggae music fan.

I Bust The Windows Out your Car R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan has also recently joined the Friday lineup. Summerfest Productions Executive Director Johnny Gourzong has stated that he is “really pleased that we’ve been able to confirm Jazmine for the show. We have been poring over a list of possible international acts, and she was one of those artistes that really jumped out at us. We are gearing up to present an exciting show, a real entertainment explosion starting from the Beach Party on Sunday, and ending with International Night II on Saturday.” Jazmine Sullivan’s second single was another chart topper that struck gold: Need You Bad and Lions, Tigers and Bears.

Reggae Sumfest International Night lineup on Friday July 24 focus on conscious reggae music, with MCs Elise Kelly and Ron Muschette from Irie FM and featured acts including:

• Morgan Heritage
• Jah Cure
• Coco Tea
• Queen Ifrica
• Ne-Yo
• Dub Tonic Kru
• Keri Hilson
• Hezron
• Jazmine Sullivan
• Anthony Able
• Stream
• Super Strong sound system

Reggae Sumfest International Night 2

Tarrus Riley and Etana, today’s leading reggae singers, will close out the 2009 Reggae Sumfest with performances on the fourth evening of live performances. They will be joined by recently-announced international R&B star Toni Braxton.

Saturday July 25′s 2009 Sumfest International Night 2 lineup is a straight list of blockbusters, hosted by MCs Francois St. Juste from Fame and Paula-Ann Porter from RJR 94 FM:

• Toni Braxton
• Nas
• Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley
• Nas
• Inner Circle
• Tarrus Riley
• Etana
• Da’ville
• Rhaatid
• Lutan Fyah
• Mackie Conscious
• Sophia Squire
• Super Strong sound system

Gates open at 7pm for the Jagra Dancehall Night and the 2 International Nights. Show times for all shows are 8:30 p.m. nightly.

Reggae Sumfest tickets

You can buy Reggae Sumfest 2009 tickets at www.reggaesumfest.com. You can also win a free VIP pass to Reggae Sumfest.

Reggae Sumfest ticket prices, in USD:

• Beach Party on Sunday, July 19 – $15
• Dancehall Night on Thursday, July 23 – $29
• International Night 1 on Friday, July 24 – $43
• International Night 2 on Saturday, July25 – $43

Special Reggae Sumfest VIP armband offers are also available (prices are also in USD):

• Red Green Gold – access on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday – $106
• VIP Red Green Gold – access to all events – $150
• Weekend – Friday and Saturday – $82
• VIP Weekend – Friday and Saturday – $110

Reggae Sumfest travel and accommodations

The 2009 Reggae Sumfest festival will be held at Catherine Hall in Montego Bay, Jamaica. You can access the festival venue from Howard Cook Boulevard. Some parking is available on site for designated ticket holders while additional parking is available in off-venue parking lots located in close proximity to the venue. The festival also provides shuttle services from Kingston and Ocho Rios.

You can make Montego Bay hotel reservations through the Reggae Sumfest website. The Reggae Sumfest Festival team has devoted a section of its website to accommodation and fans can view a list of hotels in Montego Bay, as well as read short reviews and other information on the properties. Organizers say they will continue to add more properties as the deals are finalized, including some in Negril.

Visit the Sumfest website for additional travel and event details.

Reggae Sumfest sponsors

Reggae Sumfest is presented annually by Summfest Productions. Reggae Sumfest 2009 sponsors include Digicel, Air Jamaica, Jamrock Magazine, Ocean Spray, and the Jamaica Tourist Board. Notably missing from the list of sponsors is Red Stripe beer, which pulled sponsorship in 2008 over concerns of violent and homophobic lyrics in dancehall music performed by some of the headliners.

Additional Reggae Sumfest information

Learn more about Reggae Sumfest 2009 at these websites:

• Reggae Sumfest official website
• The Reggae Sumfest Facebook page

Reggae Sumfest is presented annually by Summfest Productions. Summerfest Productions recently won this year’s International Reggae and World Music Award (IRAWMA) for Promoter of the Year, so we expect this to be another great event.

“This is evidence that we’re doing something right with Reggae Sumfest” said Sumfest executive director Johnny Gourzong. He also won the 2008 IRAWMA awards for promoter of the year and Concert of the Year. “I’m excited about this award, and after this year’s Sumfest, we will prove for the 17th consecutive year, that we are THE greatest reggae show on earth.”

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The Reggae Sumfest Royal Reggae Giveaway grand prize includes:

• 2 Reggae Sumfest VIP passes for the winner and a guest
• An all-inclusive weekend at Sandals Resorts in Montego Bay, Jamaica from July 24-25th
• A limo ride from the airport to the hotel
• An iPod
• An exclusive invitation to Tarrus Riley‘s launch event
• Access to the Ocean Spray private booth at Sumfest

Additional prizes include a runner-up prize of 2 Reggae Sumfest tickets, an all-inclusive stay at Sandals, and an iPod as weekly prize packages of 2 tickets to Sumfest International Night, an iPod, and a t-shirt. In all, Sumfest is offering 248 free Reggae Sumfest tickets 122 free iPods.

There are some catches for the free Reggae Sumfest prizes though:

• Entrants must be Jamaican citizens
• Entrants must be 18 years old or older
• Entrants must submit an official entry form, available in the Jamaica Gleaner

Contest rules are listed at the Reggae Sumfest website.

The 2009 Reggae Sumfest festival will take place in Montego Bay, Jamaica from July 19 through July 25, including the Jagra Dancehall Night on July 23.

The Jagra Dancehall Night lineup includes a full roster of legendary dancehall artistes and rising stars:

• Beenie Man
• Bounty Killer
• Vybz Kartel
• Mavado
• Elephant Man
• Busy Signal
• Spice
• Kip Rich
• Flippa Mafia
• Macka Diamond
• Lady Saw
• D’Angel

Additional Reggae Sumfest acts range from American hip hop and R&B acts to Jamaican conscious reggae singers:

• Ne-Yo
• Keri Hilson
• Jazmine Sullivan
• Morgan Heritage
• Jah Cure
• Coco T
• Queen Ifrica
• Toni Braxton
• Nas
• Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley
• Tarrus Riley
• Etana
• Da’Ville

Showtimes for Reggae Sumfest performances are 8:30 p.m. nightly.

Sponsors for the 2009 event include the Jamaica Tourist Board, Digicel, Air Jamaica, Jamrock Magazine, Ocean Spray, Jagra, Appleton, Carib Beer and Mackeson among others. Reggae Sumfest is produced annually by Summerfest Productions.

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The 2009 Digicel Barbados Reggae Festival will take place from April 19 through April 26. The Digicel Reggae Beach Party 2009 graces Barbados with 3 incredible events this year:

• Reggae on the Beach
• Vintage Reggae Show & Dance
• Reggae on the Hill

Additional information, including the reggae and dancehall star lineups, is below or you can see the official Digicel Reggae Beach Party 2009 website.

Reggae on the Beach

The Barbados reggae beach party will kick things off with hot young artists on Sunday, April 19th 2009, from 3pm until 10pm at the Carlisle Bay Centre on Bay Street. Tickets are $60 for early bird general admissions or $150 for VIP seating that includes free food and drink.

Featured reggae deejays and acts at Reggae on the Beach will include:

• Aidonia
• Busy Signal
• Mad Dog
• Peter Ram
• Kirk Brown
• Most Wanted
• Verseewild
• Slingers from Guyana
• Boomtribe
• Scott Le Rock
• Donne
• Peter Coppin & Monstapiece
• NRG
• Bubbles
• Jon Doe & Mikey Dredd
• DMZ
• Andre “Rebel” Elias

Vintage Reggae Show & Dance

The Barbados vintage reggae show & dance continues the festivities, bringing us back to our reggae roots on Friday, April 24th 2009 at 9pm at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre. General admission early bird tickets are currently on sale for $50 – there don’t seem to be any VIP tickets available.

Featured acts for the Vintage Reggae Show include:

• Freddy Mcgregor
• Gregory Isaccs
• Boris Gardiner
• Fab 5
• Biggie Irie
• Black Cat
• Admiral
• Lil Rick
• Alvin Toppin

Reggae On The Hill

The much-anticipated 2009 Digicel Barbados Reggae on the Hill festival will be held on Sunday, April 26th 2009 at 11am at Farley Hill National Park in Barbados. This event closes out the Reggae Beach Party with a massive lineup! Beenie Man and Buju Banton have recently been confirmed as headliners. General admission early bird tickets are available for $80, and VIP tickets (which include free food and drinks) are available for $200.

The full list of featured acts for the 2009 Barbados Reggae on the Hill festival include:

• Beenie Man
• Buju Banton
• Queen Ifrica
• Morgan Heritage
• Live Wyah
• Konshens
• Positive
• Duane Stevenson
• Zion Trybe
• KDB
• Buggy
• Red Star Lion
• Ayanna John
• LRG
• Ras Ali
• Hotta Flames
• Foresight
• Peter Coppin & Monstapiece
• Lil Rick
• DMZ
• Jon Doe & Mikey Dredd
• Verseewild

Free Reggae Beach Party tickets, free dirt bike

Want to attend? Try to win free tickets to the 2009 Barbados Reggae Festival by becoming their friend on Facebook. You can also purchase tickets to all 3 reggae festival events at box offices at Warrens, CS Pharmacy, Digicel Sheraton, No 1 Record Shop, Eddie’s Trading-S’Town, Bionic Man Shop, All Dallas Discounts Stores, 360 Sports in Palm Plaza Wildey, JT’S Beauty Shop and the Hood-DaCosta Mall,
Brooklyn Finest, and Jeans Inc. in Sheraton.

One lucky Reggae Beach Party attendee will also win a free dirt bike during a drawing on Sunday, April 26th at Farley Hill National Park at Reggae on The Hill. You must have your Reggae Beach Party ticket to claim the prize, which has been provided compliments of FAS Entertainment and Dallas Discounts.

The 2009 Barbados Reggae festival is sponsored by

• Digicel
• Starcom Network Inc
• Divi Southwinds Hotel
• Barbados Tourism Authority
• National HIV/AIDS Commission
• CBC TV8

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Reggae On The Hill will take place in Barbados’ Farley Hill National Park from 11am until 8pm. General admission tickets are on sale for BSD $80 and VIP tickets are also available for BSD $200. The VIP tickets include free food and drinks. You can win free tickets to the 2009 Barbados Reggae Festival from Digicel by becoming their friend on Facebook.

In addition to Beenie Man and dancehall reggae vocalist Buju Banton, confirmed acts include:

• International superstar roots reggae band Morgan Heritage
• Koshens
• Dwayne Stephenson
• Queen Ifrica
• Live Wyah
• Zion Trybe
• KDB
• Buggy
• Red Star Lion
• Ayanna John
• LRG
• Ras Ali
• Hotta Flames
• Foresight
• Peter Coppin & Monstapiece
• Lil Rick
• DMZ
• Jon Doe & Mikey Dredd
• Verseewild
• and local celebrities Trinbagonian Positive

This year’s event promises to be as big as the 2008 Barbados Reggae on the Hill festival.

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The Festival will include 3 events:

The Digicel Reggae Beach Party kicks things off Sunday, April 20, 4pm until midnight On Lower Bay Street, in association with the Boatyard and the new Whispers restaurant The Vintage Reggae Show and Party continues the festival Friday, April 25, doors open at 9pm At the Plantation Garden Theatre, fused with the venue’s popular monthly Boogie Night Reggae on the Hill caps things off Sunday, April 27, starts at 11am At Farley Hill National Park in St Peter.

Past Reggae on the Hill festivals have included international reggae artistes such as Steel Pulse, Biggie Irie, Sizzla, Richie Spice, Buju Banton, Beres Hammond, Sean Paul, Maxi Priest, Dobby Dobson, Ken Boothe, Boris Gardener, and the FAB 5 Band, as well as popular local stars.

Al Gilkes of FAS Entertainment Services (the event producer) has reported that the Festival will include a total of 15 international foreign acts, a new record for the 3-day event.

Marquita Sugrim, Digicel’s marketing executive, explained that “Barbados is fast becoming renowned for hosting international sporting and entertainment events, and the Digicel Barbados Reggae Festival is no exception. We are sure that the Digicel Barbados Reggae Festival will satisfy the thousands of reggae lovers attending the 3 events, and they can expect great entertainment.”

Digicel is also running a text promotion where listeners can win VIP access to the various events. More contest details are located on the Digicel website .

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