JazzReggae Festival gathers thousands
By Anna Andreyeva
May 31, 2004 9:00 p.m.
Music fans gathered on the Intramural Field this weekend to
partake in the 18th Annual UCLA JazzReggae Festival.
The event, put together by a sub-committee of the Cultural
Affairs Commission, featured jazz artists on Sunday and reggae
artists on Monday.
The first festival in 1987, featured only jazz music. It evolved
into the JazzReggae Festival when reggae music was added about five
years into its existence.
“It started off really small to make people unite,”
said Lester Baron, a fifth-year psychobiology student and director
of this year’s JazzReggae Festival.
Now the festival has thousands of attendees each year, with
about 30,000 expected to have come over the weekend.
Each year the preparations for the next year’s festival
begin during the summer. A staff of about 30 student volunteers
works through the year to ensure that all the details of the event
are taken care of.
Choosing which artists will be featured is near the top of the
volunteers’ to-do lists. The headliners for this year’s
festival were Poncho Sanchez on Sunday and Beenie Man on
Monday.
Poncho Sanchez is known for distinctive Latin jazz blended with
R&B sounds. Beenie Man is one of the stars of Jamaican reggae,
which is mixed with hip-hop and Latin flavors.
“The artists are selected in the order of popularity,
providing a good blend that would satisfy the audience,”
Baron said.
On Jazz day, Latin jazz, hip hop, Caribbean and smooth jazz were
performed.
Apart from selecting the artists, staff members for the UCLA
JazzReggae Festival decide where to solicit funds for the
event.
The festival is well-funded by the Undergraduate Students
Association Council and other sources on campus, such as the
Cultural Affairs Commission, the Student Life Fund and the
Community Programs Committee, Baron said.
Outside funding sources include Naked Juice, STA Travel and
radio stations Power FM and The Beat.
Besides jazz and reggae music, the festival featured Jamaican
food, such as jerk chicken, as well as clothes and jewelry
vendors.
Some who came to the festival thought attendance was sparse on
Jazz day.
“I thought I was going to see more people,” said
fourth-year economics student Sulema Campos.
On Reggae day, more than half the Intramural field was covered
with blankets and chairs, and more attendees were walking around.
In the afternoon, there was still a line to purchase tickets.
During an energetic performance by Machel Montano, attendees
cheered and danced along with the dancers on stage.
Most of the attendees on both days were not UCLA students.
The atmosphere was friendly, with children playing and dancing
next to their parents.
“The music was fun; it makes you want to get up and dance.
The festival is all about community. It brings everybody together,
something peaceful in a time like this,” Campos said.
