Bad weather doesn’t damper Jamaica Festival of Sounds

Dedicated fans of the Jamaica Festival of Sounds event braved the weather and other obstacles to ensure that the recent seventh staging of the show was a success.

"The overall turnout was excellent. When you look at the inclement weather conditions we had ... I thought that people would've stayed away, but people pull out umbrellas, used cardboard to cover and [they] stayed," said the festival's promoter, Billy 'Dunrich' Trail.

He said that this level of dedication indicated the "genuine love and support" local and international supporters have for this type of culture and the importance of keeping the sound system culture alive.

"Jamaica, and by extension, the world, got a reminder that [sound system] culture is alive where it was born, bred and originated [in St Elizabeth]. What we're doing here, nowhere else in the world is doing it. So I'd say the objective is achieved, the patrons enjoyed themselves... [they] were well engaged. There was a lot a noise and a lot of excitement. The juggling session was great and the world get to see that Jamaica is still the Mecca of sound system culture," Trail said, adding that, despite the heated lyrical battles, it was a "safe and incident-free" event.

Jamaica Festival of Sounds was held in Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth, on November 24, with 17 sounds systems from across the world, including mobile sound systems, creating a spectacle through a musical showdown in an "authentic Jamaican dancehall style".

Though every sound walked away with a participant trophy, the top prizes went to the champion sound, Super Woof for Best Performance, with their selector Bossy also copping the prize for Best Speech. Best Dub Juggling went to Hype Zone Sound while Extreme Sound won for Best Quality, Dynamite Sound for Best Bassline and Our World Mobile got best appearance. The legendary Ricky Trooper from Sound Trooper, was also acknowledged for his outstanding performance.

Trail, a businessman and sound system owner, promised to host a "bigger and better festival" next year, cutting back on the number of participants, while expanding on more quality entertainment to a wider audience via live streaming. He said patrons should anticipate a different date as the last three stagings have experienced similar weather patterns, which puts the event at a "disadvantage".

With the show's massive growth since the past seven years, Trail opined that it's time to expose the brand to the corporate world, where he plans to also invite special surprise guests to next year's staging.