Pre-Event Ticket Sales For Inaugural Reggae Rhythm & Blues Festival Going Well In Tri-State Area

With just over four weeks left before the staging the inaugural Reggae Rhythm & Blues Festival at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens, New York on Labour Day Sunday, September 4, event organisers Irie Jam Media are reporting positive reaction from fans and stronger than usual request for pre event tickets.

“Our office in Queens have been inundated with calls to purchase tickets at leading Caribbean outlets in the tri-state area and online at www.reggaerhythmandblues.com. Everything is shaping up for a much bigger event than we anticipated. This could be the biggest festival of its kind in the tri-state area. It is a big boost for reggae and for brand Jamaica” Bobby Clarke CEO of Irie Jam Radio disclosed.

Clarke also reported that the marketing campaign is on schedule and going very well.

“WBLS, 107.5 FM – one of five urban-formatted FM stations in the New York City market – have endorsed the event. They are fully on board and are handling our mainstream radio campaign. This will help to attract the fans that R&B singer Kenny ‘Babyface’ Edmond’s music appeals to” he said.

WBLS is of course the originating station of Steve Harvey’s syndicated morning show. The station also features Hal Jackson, a pioneering Black radio personality and co-founder of parent company Inner City Broadcasting, whose Sunday Classics program has aired weekly since the station’s inception. During its formative years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Frankie Crocker was WBLS’ program director and afternoon disc jockey, and is credited with defining what became the station’s signature Urban Contemporary sound. Crocker served three stints at WBLS during his career.

WBLS is also home of Dahved Levy, known for his trademark phrase, “Dahved Levy, rockin’ you! Rockin’ you!” With the number one program on 107.5 WBLS FM – according to the most recent Arbitron ratings – Levy has dominated his radio slots continuously for several consecutive ratings period over the years. Other notable personalities who have appeared on WBLS include : Chuck Leonard, Ken “Spider” Webb, Vy Higgensen, Vaughan Harper, Champagne, G. Keith Alexander, Yvonne Mobley, Lamarr Renee, Carlos DeJesus, Doug Banks, Paul Mooney and Egypt, amongst many.

Clarke has also forged media relationship with a number of Caribbean radio entities in the diaspora to assist with the promotions for Reggae Rhythm & Blues” in the ethnic market.

“The announcement of the Reggae Rhythm and Blues concert two weeks ago, was simulcast on 10 radio stations across the USA, a first in the industry. All of these stations are on board to promote the event. We have a street team here in the tri-state that is fully engaged plus we are using social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to get the message out to patrons” Clarke disclosed.

Slated to perform at Reggae Rhythm & Blues is Mavado, who will be making his first performance on US soil since his visa was re-instated. Mavado will be joined by R&B hotshot Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, singer Tarrus Riley and soca King Machel Montano. The festival will reflect a Caribbean village with an eclectic array of vendors merchandising exotic foods, arts and crafts and other cultural items reflecting the diversity of the Caribbean. Gates will open at 11am while performances will commence at noon sharp.