Red Stripe backs live music again

Reggae Sumfest is less than a month away and, after taking a two-year hiatus from its sponsorship of the reggae festival, Red Stripe is back, and in a big way.

"Red Stripe, as a local and global icon, has joined forces with the world's number one reggae festival, Sumfest, to bring the rhythmic excitement and passion of local and international popular music to our consumers," said Red Stripe Brand Manager Safia Cooper.

Red Stripe, sponsor of the event since its inception in 1993, will now become what is termed a 'platinum sponsor' of the festival.

Red Stripe's return comes at a time when there is a paradigm shift in the content of local music. When the company pulled its support from live performance events, it did so in protest of the increasingly sexually explicit and violent content of the lyrics.

There was some outcry from supporters of the entertainment industry, but Red Stripe stuck to its guns even while helping to shape a new direction in local music.

"The brand and company has been and remains integral to the development of the music and entertainment industries, with our most recent initiative being Project Artiste, which promotes the development and upliftment of hard pressed young adults through music," Cooper said.

Under the project artiste programme, young people from some of the island's most depressed communities who have an interest in being involved in the industry of entertainment were given access to formalised training which empowered them to provide for themselves and their families.

Earlier this year just under 40 young men and women graduated from the programme.