Despite hiccups, competing events, Reggae Weekend ‘A hit’

The inaugural Barbados Reggae Weekend has been declared an undeniable success by its showrunner, as the event fought off stiff competition from other holiday weekend events and some on-stage snags.

Festival director Ryan Brathwaite made the declaration as he spoke with Barbados TODAY during Reggae in the Gardens, which featured such stars as Masicka, Tessanne Chin and Queen Ifrica at the National Botanical Gardens.

“I think that the event was well executed, I think the new concept was embraced by Barbadians. Of course, we would have ensured that we curated each event to appeal to the palette of different audiences even within the reggae genre. I think that persons were impressed with the setup, the layout of the venue, the ambience, and certainly the quality of the performances which were well-thought-out to ensure that Bajans could enjoy and get their money’s worth.”

Despite the great response from patrons thus far, Brathwaite acknowledged some hiccups for the inaugural reggae festival as patrons endured long waits between acts.

“We did experience some lengthy band changeovers, especially on the Sunday night, and that was perhaps the only thing that I was not happy with,” he said. “Even though the changeovers were a bit lengthy, patrons did enjoy the performances. Some persons, although they were frustrated, did indicate that the band and the performances were worth the wait.

“So, as we look forward to 2025, we are going to go back to the drawing board and ensure that we can make improvements to the production of the event. But overall, I’d say we had a really good weekend and the feedback that we are getting suggests that even in our inaugural year, that we have positioned ourselves already on the entertainment calendar as one of the premier events,” Brathwaite added.