Rhythms of Resilience theme for Reggae Month 2026
JaRIA Chairman Ewan Simpson outlines challenges
Published:Tuesday | December 30, 2025 | 12:07 AMYasmine Peru/Senior Gleaner Writer
The Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) will celebrate Reggae Month 2026 under the theme ‘Rhythms of Resilience’, and and Chairman Ewan Simpson shared that the theme was modified post-Hurricane Melissa “to reflect how the rhythms of Jamaica, including musical elements, the energy of the people and generally, our cultural products have been the catalyst for our survival as a people”.
The association is preparing to roll out a slate of activities for next February, even as Simpson laments the challenges of sponsorship and leadership being experienced. Quizzed on the reason for lack of sponsorship, Simpson agreed that while potential “reggae dollars” are invested in carnival, he emphasised that that was not the biggest issue.
“That is part of it, but also [there is the] very fragmented leadership of the entertainment industry with the absence of a central philosophy on what counts as success in a diverse entertainment industry,” Simpson told The Gleaner, adding that the leadership has “failed to provide guidance and facilitation but is instead also competing for sponsorship dollars”.
He also pointed out that there is “a seeming reluctance on the part of corporate ... generally due to ignorance but sometimes due to bad experiences ... to associate their brands and sponsorship dollars with Reggae as an ecosystem”.
Regardless of the obstacles which prevents the only month-long celebration of reggae music anywhere in the world from rising to the occasion, Simpson and his team are enthusiastic about plans for Reggae Month in February 2026.
“Despite a lack of commitment from sponsors we intend to again partner with the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts ... EMCVPA ... to stage our Reggae Wednesdays along with our Tribute to the Crown Prince of Reggae Dennis Brown. Our second Wednesday for the month will feature a tribute to the late Jimmy Cliff and will be staged at Coral Cliff in Montego Bay,” Simpson outlined.
The other three Reggae Wednesdays will be at the EMCVPA and will be themed Back to Bass-es, featuring live performances from some of Jamaica’s greatest bass players. Also on JaRIA’s live music calendar for Reggae Month is Bands Rewind, which features Jamaican bands which have not performed together or under their original names in a while. The gospel feature is titled Resilient Praise.
There are plans to take the annual teaching-learning sessions, JaRIA Reggae Open University series, to the tertiary institutions and the association will be targeting those in Kingston, Montego Bay and Mandeville to host these panel discussions.
“We intend to continue our partnership with and our endorsement of other events for the month beginning with our partnership with Vision Band to host a Dennis Brown Celebration at the Hard Rock Guitar Hotel on January 31, along with our usual support of Inner Circle for their Reggae Month Miami activities and an event in Toronto produced by Kreative Movement Inc. dedicated to celebrating Leroy Sibbles,” Simpson shared.
JaRIA is also endorsing multiple events in Jamaica including, the Wickie Wackie Music Festival , as well as a series called I-Frequency which will be on the first and third Thurdays in the month of February at Bamboo Splash on Barbican Road.
Simpson shared that he has a vision for Reggae Month that would encapsulate all areas of entertainment and culture, and he skilfully painted the picture in two sentences.
“My vision is a monthlong national celebration of Jamaica’s diverse reggae ecosystem including music, fashion, dance, film, gastronomy, philosophy and literary products, in a context where the private sector is encouraged and incentivised to participate fulsomely. In this context all of Jamaica will become a cultural tourism site with free and paid experiences welcoming scouts, journalists, marketers and just lovers of Jamaica to come in their thousands to soak it all in as seasoned and emerging talent is on show.”
It was in January 2008 that the Government announced that February would be officially declared Reggae Month. Not coincidentally, the birthdays of two reggae icons, Crown Prince of Reggae, Dennis Brown, and King of Reggae, Bob Marley are commemorated during the month of February. Dennis Brown was born on on February 1, and Bob Marley on February 6.