Organisers promise a better Sumfest

Curtis Campbell, Gleaner Writer

The organisers of Reggae Sumfest are busy turning up preparations as opening day of the musical festival draws closer.

One of the most anticipated events in the country, Reggae Sumfest, dubbed 'the greatest reggae show on earth', promises to deliver the best line-up from a crop of local and international performers.

There was speculation as to the fate of dancehall heavyweight Rodney 'Bounty Killer' Price, as a part of this year's line-up, due to the fact the artiste was missing from earlier Sumfest advisements in the media.

However, Marcia McDonnough of Touchstone Productions, said the artiste will make the trip.

"Bounty Killer will be there for sure, we were just going through negotiations with his management team, so we didn't want to advertise him before that was completed. Bounty Killer has always been a part of Sumfest and he will be there this year," she said.

According to McDonnough, this year, Red Stripe will be pulling out all stops to give the event an international flavour, using state-of-the-art innovation never before used in Jamaica.

Safia Cooper, Red Stripe brand manager, recently previewed a lofted VIP area, at the Sumfest launch at Barbican Beach, St Andrew last month.

She also hinted that there was more to see when patrons turned up at the event on July 17.

Last year, the event was marred by rain which reduced patron turnout and saw many hard-core reggae subscribers scampering in the mud to get a taste of the performances.

Extra efforts have been made this year to make sure this doesn't happen.

According to McDonnough, major work has been done to eliminate the drainage problems of last year, and only a storm could discredit the improvements.

Sumfest is slated for July 21-23, in Montego Bay.

Much has also been made of the arrival of the king of R&B, R Kelly, to the Sumfest stage, as well as hip hop sensation, Nikki Minaj.