JazzReggae Fest switches to virtual platform, spreads performances over two days

This year’s JazzReggae Fest is branching out virtually while remaining faithful to its roots.

After suspending the festival last year, UCLA’s annual JazzReggae Fest returns with a two-part Zoom show taking place Sunday and Monday. The festival will feature pre-recorded performances accompanied by live Q&A sessions with artists Smino, Skip Marley, Rexx Life Raj and Lila Ike, along with presentations by local visual artists. Co-director of the event and fourth-year sociology student Jordyn Blackwell said her staff’s goal is to adapt to changing times by transitioning to a virtual platform while keeping the festival as authentic as possible.

“Our theme this year is to reset, reboot and regrow – really to start again,” Blackwell said. “The spirit of our team this year is to build it from the ground up and go towards the future, looking at what this festival could be from now on.”

With all the changes JazzReggae Fest has gone through this year, Blackwell’s co-director and third-year art student Ava Brock said holding the festival virtually is a way of looking toward a brighter future. Despite the changes, Blackwell said one of the staff’s main missions is still to connect the greater Los Angeles community with UCLA students.

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As for what has changed with the festival’s virtual format, Blackwell said there will no longer be live music nor other live non-music aspects. During past on-campus festivals, Blackwell said visual artists painted live on four-by-four canvases, but now local artists will share their art and creative process in short segments over Zoom. Local craft and food vendors from diverse demographic backgrounds were also featured, but because of its online nature this year, she said the event will host student vendors through the JazzReggae website. Additionally, Brock said there will be no incorporation of sustainability aspects from past festivals, such as bikes that charge phones.

Despite the many changes to the event, Blackwell said her team was able to devote the majority of its budget towards artists they felt their audience would enjoy. Another positive aspect of the virtual format, Brock said, is its increased accessibility to people beyond the LA area. Although Brock believes the state of the world following the pandemic is looking better, she said she also appreciates the different nature of this year’s show.

“Even though a lot of the reasons why the times have been changing come from negativity or COVID, things are starting to look up,” Brock said. “It’s nice to have one last thing to do to end off all of this virtual stuff and have a good time with it.”

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In selecting this year’s artist lineup, second-year sociology student and artist relations co-director Briajah Payton said the staff wanted to choose artists who created timeless pieces of art with their music. She said such pieces tie into the timeless themes of Afro-Futurism, which is a cultural movement exploring interactions between African diaspora culture and technology. The staff’s selection process began in November when they compiled a list of potential artists before narrowing them down based on fit and price, she said. Despite having the artists supply the festival with pre-recorded performances rather than performing on stage, Payton said the process of forming the lineup had not been any easier.

“We divided (the festival) into two days because even though these artists are amazing, no one wants to sit on their computer for eight hours,” Payton said. “I think we definitely had to tailor (the performance schedule) and learn as we went on how to best execute and handle our responsibility to the festival.”

As a stress reliever in the final weeks of spring quarter, Payton said she hopes JazzReggae Fest calms people in the midst of all the chaos. Brock said she wants to give the audience something to smile about and to keep people connected through the festival. From their mission of bringing people together to enjoy culture and art, Blackwell said she hopes anyone who attends the event will walk away feeling better than they did before the festival.

“I hope people who enjoy appreciating (art) will be there and be able to have a good time even if just for a few hours, Blackwell said. “(They can) come celebrate in our space with us, our artists and all these creative people who are coming to spread love and joy.”