T he St. Lucia Jazz Festival has now become one of the major events on the Caribbean musical calendar. What started as a marketing tool in 1991 to extend St. Lucia’s tourist season beyond May (previously a quiet period), has now transformed into a 10-day festival attracting visitors from all over the world. BET on Jazz has certainly done its part in promoting the festival and to boost its popularity by televising excerpts not only during May but at other times throughout the year. The festival now ranks #1 on E! Entertainment Television’s top 5 festivals in the world. Not a bad feat for an island formed of volcanic rock measuring 616 square kilometres.

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Reggae radio in New York is on the upswing. Not surprising, given that outside of Jamaica, this is the biggest market for Reggae. But there was a time when many radio stations here did not programme Reggae. Back then Gill Bailey, Earl Chin, Carl Simmons and Ken Williams were the only Jamaican voices recognisable on New York radio. Now urban radio stations, like Hot 97 FM whose signal is heard all over Metropolitan New York, are blazing Reggae to an 18 to 34 year old core audience. The Sunday Reggae show with jocks Bobby Konders and Jabba was added to strengthen and further diversify their listener base. It was a bold move and Caribbean listeners tuned in.

Club promoter turned radio DJ Dahved Levy is also wooing listeners on Urban 107.5 FM in New York. Levy's 'Ballroom' program which airs on Saturdays 7-10 p.m. and "Caribbean Fever" (Sundays 4- 7 p.m.), is reputed to be the number one Caribbean radio show anywhere on the dial. WRTN 93.5 FM, a Westchester based radio station whose format is heavily influenced by Reggae, seized an opportunity in 1997 when WNWK 105.9 FM closed its doors on Reggae.

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