Bounty Killer (left) and Johnny Gourzong, Summerfest Productions' executive director. - Colin Hamilton

Although Summerfest Productions was faced with the possibility that it would not be able to stage Reggae Sumfest this year, the event was launched on Friday night at the Sportsmax Zone in New Kingston.

Speaking to those in attendance, Robert Russell, chairman of Summerfest Productions, said, "This year, Summerfest Productions was faced with a number of challenges to present this show and there were times we were not sure we would be going ahead with it. Without sponsors, we would never have a show. I want to say a special thank you to our sponsors that support this show."

artistes' exposure

He boasted that the week-long event, which is scheduled for July 17 to 24 in Montego Bay, brings people to the island and gives our artistes exposure.

And that is part of the reason Jamaica Tourist Board's Jason Hall believes sponsoring Reggae Sumfest is worthwhile.

"Half of the foreign nationals come specifically for Reggae Sumfest. The people in Montego Bay can attest to the increase in business. Jamaica Tourist Board considers this a worthwhile sponsorship and we intend to continue," he said.

William Mahfood, managing director of Wisynco Group Limited, said, "we are very supportive of the music. Reggae Sumfest is the heartbeat of our music and Jamaica. The country is coming back on a strong footing and we are going to enjoy ourselves through the music more than ever before."

honour and homage

Johnny Gourzong, Summerfest Productions' executive director, also announced this year's lineup. Dancehall night would feature the likes of Bounty Killer, Vybz Kartel, D'Angel, Demarco, Konshens, Chino, Ce'Cile, Voicemail, Mavado, Khago, Tifa, Stacious, I-Octane, Ding Dong and Elephant Man. On that night, Bounty Killer will be honoured and homage will be paid to Voicemail's Oneil Edwards who died last month.

International night 1 will feature R&B artiste Chris Brown, Gyptian, Jah Cure, Tony Rebel, Queen Ifrica, Etana and Protege.

And for International night 2, R&B singer Usher will be featured along with Shaggy, Beenie Man, Tarrus Riley, Christopher Martin, Gramps Morgan and QQ.

In addition to the formalities, there were other highlights at the event like clips that were shown of previous stagings of Reggae Sumfest.

Throughout the night the sponsors had their moments. Digicel had its segment featuring D'Angel and a bunch of girls dancing to Lady Gaga's Telephone in eccentric outfits. There were also performances by I-Octane and Assassin, who will be part of Digicel's Next Generation segment at Reggae Sumfest. Their performances were thoroughly enjoyed.

In the Guinness segment, Biggy's designs were shown off by Pulse models. The brand celebrated the legends of dancehall with a performance by Flourgon, who entertained the guests with some of his all-time favourite songs. There was also a group of violinists, who played songs like Half Pint's Greetings and Destiny's Child's Say My Name.

In the Red Stripe segment, there were performances by Etana and Christopher Martin who was joined by D-Major for Real Friends. Music was provided by ZJ Liquid.

Left: D'Angel performing at the launch of Reggae Sumfest. Right: Voicemail's Kevin (left) and Craig in attendance at the launch.

Left: During the Guinness segment at the launch, Biggy's designs were shown off by Pulse models. Right: I-Octane giving those who turned out at the launch a taste of what was to come at Reggae Sumfest 2010.