Memories of Sinbad Soul Music Festival 30 years ago

"No firearms allowed”, the US$45-per-night ticket read. As her melodic notes mesmeried the May moonlit night, chart topper Chaka Khan proclaimed onstage, "I'm every woman, it's all in me.”  It was Memorial Weekend 1996 and all roads led to the Sinbad Soul Music Festival in Montego Bay. 

A steady flow of scheduled flights, charter flights and extra section flights brought in over 8000 African Americans visitors to Jamaica. Private jets came in too.  The bumper crowd was there to enjoy soul and reggae music, and to soak up the exciting culture, cuisine and attractions of the island for the long weekend. Every hotel room, villa, guest house and assorted lodgings from Negril to Ocho Rios were sold out. The unprecedented wave of African Americans had come in to see the Ojays, Chaka Khan, Al Green, Kool & the Gang, Lakeside, Con Funk Shun, the Gap Band, Natalie Cole, Ziggy Marley, and others. 

That weekend marked a milestone moment in the development of Jamaica's tourism. The four days of concerts, street fetes, hot body contests and beach parties attracted an unprecedented flood of affluent black folks from the United States who did a total takeover of all accommodations including resorts such as Round Hill, Half Moon and Tryall. 

Over US$500m reportedly poured in from the event that was pulled off in less than six months, and the cash spread from top to bottom. Resorts, restaurants and attractions made “a killing”. And sugar cane-sellers, fruit-stall vendors, push-cart men, ganja farmers, strippers and after-dark girls, cook-shop operators, restaurant owners, water-sports operators, taxi-men, transport and tour operators were all smiling from ear to ear. 

"Sinbad come 'ere ... a yuh wi want fi prime minister,” a fat lady in sprayed-on tight pink shorts yelled to Sinbad as he drove along Barnett Street, heading to Jarrett Park, the main event venue.

"A nuff poor people pickney ganja money feed this weekend,” a gardener at a posh resort pondered aloud to no one in particular while chopping water coconuts for guests. 

The elation was written across Tourism Director Fay Pickersgill's face as she walked from Margaritaville along the Hip Strip celebrating with the happy throng. Thanks to the efforts of JTB's Pat Samuels, the strip had been transformed to a pedestrian zone for one unforgettable night of the festival. Pickersgill was contemplating the tidal wave of black people who broke free from the confines of their all-inclusive resorts. VIPs and ordinary Jamaicans were seen mingling, spending, chatting, inhaling the vibe and the aromas of the street culture, and just having a jolly good time.

There was minimal traffic stress as the local support team had figured out a way to move thousands in shuttle buses from the makeshift transportation hub at Dump Up Beach (now Harmony Beach Park) to Jarrett Park. 

"The Sinbad 70s Soul Music Festival came at a perfect time as the JTB and the Ministry of Tourism wanted to promote Montego Bay as a music festival venue,” Josef Forstmayr, then Jamaica Hotel & Tourist Association chairman and managing director of Round Hill Hotel, recalled. "It was the perfect precursor to the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival which tried to create a similar buzz to attract a similar local and international audience.” 

"The Sinbad Soul Music Festival was an amazing experience for the team at Half Moon, and it simply was electric,” Myrtle Dwyer, former management and marketing executive at the sold-out resort revealed. "We had the golden opportunity of accommodating Sinbad himself and he kept us entertained non-stop as he blended with the crowd.” 

Denise Dixon, a music lover from Trelawny, who is based in Plainfield, New Jersey, has fond memories of celebrating a birthday at the festival. "It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime event that is to be cherished and remembered. It was a joy to see so many people embracing the Jamaican culture and the fusion of R&B and reggae in an atmosphere that was electric, soulful and unforgettable.” 

"I was very impressed by the dazzling line-up and how well organised the festival was,” Abigail Adams, CEO and founder of Movin' Records, a dance music label in the United States, told The Sunday Gleaner. "A big highlight for me was the community and fellowship of the street carnival on the Hip Strip where Jamaicans and visitors came together in a huge one love embrace".  

The concert became a two-hour television special for HBO that was repeatedly broadcast to millions of Americans nationally. 

entertainment@gleanerjm.com