Planning key to Jamaica Jazz and Blues' success

Garfene Grandison, Gleaner Writer

For spectators, the annual Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival is a source of great entertainment. Each year, thousands are taken away on a melodious journey, to a world where a love for music is the ticket to freedom.

However, many have never given the slightest thought to the level of planning which goes into making the event such a huge success. One could argue that it is the music and the loyal patrons which have propelled the event to the top, but without planning from a team of experts, the Jazz and Blues Festival could easily have failed.

From the very first installment, strategies have been developed and improved on to make the annual event successful. Every year, a team of professionals is involved in developing new ways to achieve maximum satisfaction for the patrons and those staging the event. The team also carries out an analysis after each staging of the event and listens to feedback from stakeholders in an effort to avoid repeating mistakes and ensuring efficiency the following year.

The success of the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival each year is not owed to a single entity, but is a result of multiple departments working together harmoniously. TurnKey Productions works with a number of entities in order to ensure the smooth staging of the festival. These entities ultimately become the different departments of the show.

RS Concerts is in charge of production, Touchstone Productions deals with marketing and publicity is handled by Headline Entertainment. The video department is controlled by Steady Image.

Market conditions

Even though each department uses its own method to ensure that everything is running smoothly, they each strive for the same end result - a great show.

Like any other event, the festival is budgeted based on relevant market conditions. Inputs are gathered from various departments and sponsors each year in order to revise the previous budget. Sponsors are chosen based on their suitability to the festival and the various categories of sponsorship available attract a variety of sponsors to participate.

The main purpose of the festival is to provide its patrons with unparalleled entertainment, but the resulting boost in the economy is just a much appreciated side effect.

Loyal followers of the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival may have been used to the Rose Hall Aqueduct venue. However, it is no longer available due to pending developments, so the producers have selected Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium as the next best alternative, offering the space required to host the event.

The planning for such a popular event virtually never stops. Before the very last performance in a current year's staging is even completed, planning is underway for the following year's show. Feedback from patrons is used to guide the selection of performers for the next staging of the event and observations are made to aid in logistical improvements.