REGGAE SUNSPLASH PRESERVATION SOCIETY

About Us

CURATE

DIGITIZE & STREAM

CATALOGUE

We are curating and preserving the Reggae Sunsplash audio-visual assets in an attempt to protect and avoid further deterioration in quality of the Reggae Sunsplash footage. Reggae music has gone international and is pervasive in contemporary popular music and culture, embracing and blending with all music genres globally.

CATALOGUE

DIGITIZE & STREAM

CATALOGUE

We are cataloging, and developing proper finding aids, metadata and procedures in conjunction with the Collins College of Professional Studies and the Department of Library & Informational Sciences at St. John’s University, Queens New York. The Reggae Sunsplash audio-visual assets will be made accessible for historical, educational and informational purposes to all our members.

DIGITIZE & STREAM

The Reggae Sunsplash Preservation Society is digitizing and producing special programs and presenting insights and interviews with some of the foundation artistes that played an important role in creating reggae music.

The Reggae Sunsplash platform also gave birth to the Dance Hall sub-genre and that link has now resonated and created a

The Reggae Sunsplash platform also gave birth to the Dance Hall sub-genre and that link has now resonated and created a fascinating synergy across many youth cultures internationally.

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REGGAE SUNSPLASH FESTIVAL - MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA

COMING SOON: Some of the greatest, never seen before, live performances from the archives of the legendary Reggae Sunsplash Festival, Jamaica's First, Annual, International Reggae Festival. The Reggae Sunsplash Festival first took place in Montego Bay Jamaica between June 23 - 30, 1978 and was the creation of Synergy Productions, a Jamaican-based promotion and production company. Keep checking the website for the exciting new developments when we will stream and interview the artistes, musicians and fans and hear the stories that made Reggae Sunsplash the biggest global reggae platform ever.

Sharing unique Reggae Sunsplash footage and stories spanning the period 1978 - 1994 with our members.

Exciting vintage Reggae Sunsplash festival performances that started the movement.

REGGAE SUNSPLASH PROGRAMS ALREADY STREAMED

DONATE TO PRESERVE AND PREVENT DETERIORATION

Help preserve our rich musical heritage. We need to purchase equipment and get the technical help required to save more than 200 hours of valuable festival footage from further deterioration. We will be streaming programs for our members.

DONATE TO PRESERVE AND PREVENT DETERIORATION

TRIBUTE TO DENNIS BROWN

The first streamed event took place on Reggae Day - July 1, 2019 and this was done in collaboration with the organizers of Reggae Day. The Reggae Sunsplash Preservation Society paid a special "Tribute to Dennis Brown" and streamed his Reggae Sunsplash '91 performance that took place at the Bob Marley Centre, Montego Bay Jamaica.

TRIBUTE TO FOUNDATION ARTISTES

Our second streamed event took place on February 28, 2021 and the event paid tribute to some of our selected foundational artistes and recognized their contributions to the development of reggae, namely, Ras Michael & the Sons of Negus, Big Youth, Judy Mowatt, Bloodfire Posse and Freddie McGregor, Sly & Robbie.

HISTORY OF STREAMED EVENTS

DONATE TO PRESERVE AND PREVENT DETERIORATION

FREE HOODIE FOR DONATIONS OF $100.00 OR MORE

REGGAE SUNSPLASH PRESERVATION SOCIETY

STREAMED - JULY 1, 2019

REGGAE DAY

"TRIBUTE TO DENNIS BROWN"

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STREAMED - FEB 28, 2021

"TRIBUTE TO THE FOUNDATION ARTISTES"

RAS MICHAEL

BIG YOUTH

BLOODFIRE POSSE

JUDY MOWATT

FREDDIE MC GREGOR

SLY & ROBBIE.

********************************************

FREE HOODIE FOR DONATIONS OF $100.00 OR MORE

FREE T-SHIRT FOR DONATIONS OF $75.00 OR MORE.

FREE HOODIE FOR DONATIONS OF $100.00 OR MORE

We have a free hoodie for donors that donate $100.00 or more. Free domestic postage. (Colors green or white)

FREE T-SHIRT FOR DONATIONS OF $75.00 OR MORE.

We have a free T-shirt for donors that donate $75.00 or more. Free domestic postage. (Colors green or white)

FREE T-SHIRT FOR DONATIONS OF $75.00 OR MORE.

We have a free T-shirt for donors that donate $75.00 or more. Free domestic postage. (Colors green or white)

DONATE AND HELP OUR CAUSE

WHY DONATE

The Reggae Sunsplash Preservation Society is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your donation may be tax deductible. Please check with your tax advisor.

HOW IT WILL HELP

Your support and contributions will enable us to meet our goals of preserving, restoring, digitizing and streaming the body of work laid by our foundational reggae artistes and musicians as we continue the global movement of "Uniting the World through Music."

OUR GOAL

Your generous donation will fund our mission to rescue and prevent further deterioration of valuable Reggae Sunsplash footage. We want to preserve the footage and legacy of our foundational reggae artistes and also to educate our members. Your donation may be tax deductible. Please check with your tax advisor.

ArchivalScienceFA-Poster.pdf

Archival Science: Creation of Finding Aids / Catalogues

for the Reggae Sunsplash Preservation Society

(in conjunction with the DLIS of SJC, CPS, and University Library)

Where does my work fit into the RSPS?

Above is the general calendar of goals for the project, and the red box is where my own work is.

• My job, as the “archivist” for the project is to document information found on the tapes, into files called

“finding aids.” This is time consuming and requires a lot of focus. Other than that, it is pretty enjoyable. It is

necessary for us to document this information for when the archive is moved to a public host, and we are

finished digitizing.

What is a finding aid?

• A finding aid is a document that contains detailed information regarding a specific collection within an archive.

Information included depends on the nature of the archived materials and the archive itself.

• Its purpose is to organize and facilitate easy access to the archive, as well as providing access to information

within the archive, sometimes without having to look through/handle the contents within.

• One problem I encountered when trying to understand my work was that I couldn’t discern the difference

between finding aids and catalogues.

• Basically, a finding aid is largely a physical aid: it helps one who is trying to handle the content of the archive

locate what they are looking for, and to some extent, decide what parts of the archive they want to access. It

gives limited information with the intention to provide necessary insight into the archive. For example, if you

want to find what shelf has tapes including Barrington Levy performances, you should use a finding aid.

• A catalog is something that can be used physically or digitally. One can use this to find specific details about

things within an archive. It is naturally easier to use digitally, as one can search for a specific thing. For example,

if you want to find which tapes contain a performance that has shots of the crowd cheering, this might be

found in the catalog.

What comes after my work?

• After my work, the RSPS will be working on

digitizing the tapes. Ideally, the tapes will be able to

be streamed online so that anyone can enjoy the

recordings of the festival. After they are digitized,

metadata will be created, and then the film can be

edited and worked with more easily, without the

physical tapes. This process is still evolving as a

professional archive practice.

• Once we are finished on AV digitization of the

concert festival film, we will turn over the source

film to a public archive specialized in music such as

the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame museum, the

GRAMMY Museum, or the NY Performing Arts

Public Library. The catalog and finding aids that I

produce will help create this public archive.

• It is unlikely that we will be able to digitize all of the

footage, so we will likely completely digitize and

stream about a fifth of it.

(This is Kenneth, Cameron, and Don at the digitization

lab.)

A Huge Thank You to:

• The Division of Library and Information Science

• Michael Crossfox (Academic Support Assistant,

DLIS)

• Dr. Katia Passerini (Dean of College of Professional

Studies)

• Dr. Valeda Dent (Dean of Libraries)

• Melissa Aaronburg (DLIS Graduate Student)

• And of course, to Don and Cameron.

Sources:

• Division of Library and Information Science

• ReggaeSunsplashPreservationSociety.com

• archives.gov/digitization/strategy

• Society of American Archivists. 2013. Describing

Archives: A Content Standard (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL.

• Pearce-Moses, Richard. (2005). A Glossary

of Archival and Records Terminology. Chicago, IL.

ReggaeSunsplashPreservationSociety.org

This was our prototype finding aid, which I have since

expanded to be much larger and more detailed:

These are the founders of the RSPS:

Don and Cameron

(picture taken during an interview

at the BRIC Arts Media House, in Downtown Brooklyn)

These are our tape archives, where

I currently document information

on the tapes and am helping

to create the film archive:

What is the Reggae Sunsplash Festival?

• A music festival located in Jamaica, considered the biggest

Reggae festival in the world. It ran from 1978-1994. It is a

huge part of Jamaican history, Reggae history, and

worldwide music history.

• It was at its heart a music festival, mainly Reggae, but also

branched out into other genres of music, as well as into

other events such as fashion shows. It featured musicians

such as Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Burning Spear, Marcia

Griffiths, and hundreds more.

• The festival itself was organized by five Jamaican

entrepreneurs, one of them being Don Green, now a CPS

professor at St. Johns and co-founder of the Reggae

Sunsplash Preservation Society.

What is the Reggae Sunsplash

Preservation Society?

• The Reggae Sunsplash Preservation Society, or RSPS, was

created as a not-for-profit organization with the intention

of preserving the history and concert film from the festival

itself.

• The RSPS has been working on documenting/archiving and

later digitizing the tapes available of the festival. There are

hundreds of these film cassettes, and they contain

approximately 1500 artist performances.

• The RSPS has a grant application with the National

Historical Publications and Records Commission, as well as

the Grammy Foundation, and is accepting donations on its

website: ReggaeSunsplashPreservationSociety.org.

By Joseph Pellrine (SJC History and English).

Mentor: Dr. Cameron Weber (cultural

economist, Tobin & CPS).

Files coming soon.

Help Our Cause

The Reggae Sunsplash Preservation Society is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your donation may be tax deductible. Please check with your tax advisor.

Your generous donation will fund our mission. Your donation may be tax deductible. Please check with your tax advisor.

REGGAE SUNSPLASH PRESERVATION SOCIETY Uniting the World through Music

Welcome to the Reggae Sunsplash Preservation Society.

About Us

CURATE

DIGITIZE & STREAM

CATALOGUE

CATALOGUE

DIGITIZE & STREAM

CATALOGUE

DIGITIZE & STREAM

DIGITIZE & STREAM

DIGITIZE & STREAM

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REGGAE SUNSPLASH FESTIVAL - MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA

REGGAE SUNSPLASH PROGRAMS ALREADY STREAMED

DONATE TO PRESERVE AND PREVENT DETERIORATION

DONATE TO PRESERVE AND PREVENT DETERIORATION

DONATE TO PRESERVE AND PREVENT DETERIORATION

DONATE TO PRESERVE AND PREVENT DETERIORATION

DONATE TO PRESERVE AND PREVENT DETERIORATION

HISTORY OF STREAMED EVENTS

DONATE TO PRESERVE AND PREVENT DETERIORATION

FREE HOODIE FOR DONATIONS OF $100.00 OR MORE

FREE HOODIE FOR DONATIONS OF $100.00 OR MORE

FREE T-SHIRT FOR DONATIONS OF $75.00 OR MORE.

FREE HOODIE FOR DONATIONS OF $100.00 OR MORE

FREE T-SHIRT FOR DONATIONS OF $75.00 OR MORE.

FREE T-SHIRT FOR DONATIONS OF $75.00 OR MORE.

FREE T-SHIRT FOR DONATIONS OF $75.00 OR MORE.

FREE T-SHIRT FOR DONATIONS OF $75.00 OR MORE.

FREE T-SHIRT FOR DONATIONS OF $75.00 OR MORE.

FREE T-SHIRT FOR DONATIONS OF $75.00 OR MORE.

REGGAE SUNSPLASH - MEXICO CITY

DONATE AND HELP OUR CAUSE

WHY DONATE

HOW IT WILL HELP

OUR GOAL

SPECIAL OFFER FOR DONORS

FREE T-SHIRTS AND HOODIES

ArchivalScienceFA-Poster.pdf

Help Our Cause

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