NY concert comes to Jamaica live

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

In New York City, it costs US$75 (general admission), or US$150 (VIP) to see Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds, Monica, Mavado, Tarrus Riley, Machel Mantano, I-Octane, John Holt, and Leroy Sibbles perform today. There will also be an on-stage presentation to Beenie Man, who will not perform.

In Jamaica, it costs $500. No VIP section.

The inaugural Reggae Rhythm and Blues Festival at the Roy Wilkins Park, Queens, will be shown live in Jamaica at three locations: Pulse's headquarters on Trafalgar Road, New Kingston; the newly reopened Rock 'N' Roll Sports Bar in Mandeville; and J&D Plaza, Byndloss, St Catherine. It will also be shown in other parts of the United States and Canada.

Persons with iPhones and iPads will also be able to access the content at a price.

DC Digital, headed by David Cassanova, is handling the transmission from New York, while Juice Productions, run by Delroy Thompson, is taking care of the Jamaican screening.

All-local production

Thompson emphasised that the production is "all-local. We don't have to import any foreigners anymore". He outlines a chain of transmission that is all-Jamaican, from the concert's organisers, Irie Jam Media, to the persons filming the event, to DC Digital handling the satellite transmission, and, of course, the three locations in Jamaica.

"The technology exists, the technocrats exist, and anything we want to do, we can. This is a new level," Thompson said.

Simulcast is not new to Jamaica; it is par for the course in horseracing. Also, telecommunications company LIME used its Mobile TV service - done with DC Digital - to carry the Buju Banton and Friends Before the Dawn concert live from Florida on January 16 this year. Going the other way, the Boxing Day music marathon, Sting, has been streamed live on the Internet on a pay-per-view basis.

Thompson points out that "DC showed Vybz Kartel to 15,000 people (in the US). We are reversing it now".

In the days before the spread of cable television, heavyweight title fights involving former champion Mike Tyson were shown live from the USA at the now-defunct State cinema in Cross Roads, St Andrew.

Crossing genres

Thompson said Reggae Rhythm and Blues was chosen for the organisers' debut simulcast because "it is a first-time event, an offshoot of Irie Jamboree. Hopefully, they will do it on an annual basis. It crosses R&B, which is a favourite with Jamaicans, soca and stalwarts in terms of deejays and oldies acts".

It will also be Mavado's first performance in the USA since he was granted a US visa in July. It was revoked in April 2010, along with those of Bounty Killer, Beenie Man, Aidonia, and selector Ricky Trooper. While Beenie Man is once again able to travel to the USA, he does not have a work permit and cannot perform.

Thompson laughs as he says that without having a US visa, persons in Jamaica can see the concert in New York. And he points out the enormous possibilities of the technology being handled by Jamaicans.

"The entire Jamaica 50 celebration can be shown to the world, anywhere in the world, without going to regular broadcast situation," he said.

The Jamaican venues for the simulcast of Reggae Rhythm and Blues open at noon and the simulcast goes until 10 p.m.