“Rooted in love and positivity” are the mottos of the Charlemont Reggae Festival. The festival is now in its 26th year and will take place on Friday 16th August and Saturday 17th August. For the first time, the reggae festival will last two days and include camping.

The family-friendly event runs daily from 1pm-10pm and features 15 acts across two stages at the beautiful Charlemont Fairgrounds. There will also be vendors, food trucks and children’s activities. Children under 12 are free.

The lineup includes national and local reggae artists including Sister Nancy, Easy Star All-Stars, Yaadcore, Talking Dreads, Rebelle, IanI Soultree & the Soul Rizer Crew, The Pilfers, The Valley Moonstompers, Abdul Baki and Root Fiyah, Jah Rich and Brave Prince, Wheelout Acoustic and Adam SZ and Friends, The OG Equalites and DJ I-ganic.

This year’s festival will honour the memory of musician and festival director Ras John Bullock and musician and sound engineer Chris Dixon.

From 2019, Hawks & Reed took over the operation of the festival, which was previously run by reggae artist Ras John Bullock and before that by festival founder Abdul Baki.

Ras John, a member of Loose Caboose and the Alchemystics, was an important ambassador for reggae in the Northeast throughout his life.

At the time of his death in 2017, he was co-directing the festival with his wife Elizabeth.

“Elizabeth asked us if we would take over the festival. It was too much work for her after Ras John died,” Steve Goldsher, owner of Hawks & Reed, said in a recent phone call. “Now I understand why she said that,” he laughed. Hawks & Reed has encountered some obstacles since taking over responsibility in 2019, most notably the pandemic, which led to the cancellation of the festival in 2020 and 2021. 2022 was a successful year, but last year they had to cancel the festival due to an illness in the family.

Now they are back and continuing with full force.

“My son Ben (Hawks & Reed manager) said we could expand and make it bigger and better by adding camping and the extra day,” Goldsher said. “Camping is something the vendors have asked for in the past,” he said. “It seems to be a good fit.”

Goldsher is proud of the lineup that has been put together and believes that festival-goers will enjoy the entire weekend.

Saturday night’s headliner is Sister Nancy, a native of Kingston, Jamaica. She was the first female dancehall DJ and has been a leading figure in the dancehall scene for two decades. Her song “Bam Bam” is one of the most sampled reggae songs of all time and has been sampled in songs by Jay-Z, Kanye West and many others.

“I met Sister Nancy when she played with Hawks & Reed,” Goldsher said. “A lot of people associate reggae with only male artists, and we liked the idea of ​​bringing in a female artist so people know that this music is inclusive of everyone.”

While Sister Nancy plays old school reggae, Yaardcore, who will also play on Saturday, is part of the new reggae revival – a group of young reggae musicians and DJs who combine classic reggae with modern music. He is one of the most famous and influential DJs of today.

Headlining on Friday are the Easy Star All-Stars, who are best known for their interpretations of classic rock albums. Their 2003 version of Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon”, which they recorded as “Dub Side of the Moon”, is a cult classic. Last year they took on David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust” album and called it “Ziggy Stardub”. Talking Dreads are also going in this direction, adding a reggae twist to the music of the Talking Heads.

A few weeks ago Hawks & Reed hosted a ska festival and they are excited to bring some bands from that festival to Charlemont, including the Ska Fest headliners, third wave ska band The Pilfers.

“They were fantastic and I wanted them here; they will be driving from a gig in Philadelphia to be in Charlemont.” Local ska band, the Valley Moonstompers, will also play at the Reggae Fest

Other local artists include IanI SoulTree & the Soul Rizer Crew, Adam SZ and friends and DJ I-ganic. Some of the local artists, such as Rebelle and OG Equalites, have been playing at the festival for many years.

When we talk about longevity, we have to mention Abdul Baki, who founded the festival in 1998 and played there about 10 times with his then band New Roots. This year he will play both days with his current band Root Fiyah.

The Charlemont Reggae Festival began in a roundabout way when Baki was asked to play with his reggae band New Roots at the Charlemont Fairgrounds as part of the city’s Yankee Doodle Days celebrations.

He played to a crowd he was pretty sure was unfamiliar with reggae music, but by the end of his set they were tapping their feet. While the crowd was discovering this new music, Baki discovered the venue was the perfect place for live music. “Since I knew so many of the local reggae bands, I thought this would be a great place for a reggae festival,” he said.

He presented his idea to the city and received the green light and tremendous support from the local press and business community.

A few years after the event began, Baki hired local musician Chris Dixon to provide sound, a job he continued over the years. “He was great,” Baki said. “It’s not easy to make sound in that environment because of all the trees; he was an expert at it.”

After about six years of the festival’s history, Baki had to step down as director and Ras John took over. He continued to build the festival’s reputation as a fun, relaxed event that joyfully celebrates the music of Jamaica.

“It was more than a festival. It was a celebration, and I’m proud and happy that it’s continuing and that Steve and Ben have been able to do it and do it so well,” said Baki. “It’s a beautiful festival in a beautiful place.”

“It was kind of a trial by fire,” Goldsher said. “But we’ve tried to improve it by bringing in national talent like Sister Nancy, extending it to two days and adding camping,” he said. “We think it’s going to be a good year.”

Advance tickets for the day and weekend, as well as camping information, are available at Hawksandreed.com. Tickets are also sold at the gate. Gates open at 1pm both days.

Sheryl Hunter is a freelance writer living in Easthampton. Her work has been published in various regional and national publications. You can reach her at [email protected].