Franklie Campbell Speaks About Online Shows

Frankie Campbell

I have been telling people over the past year that virtual shows just don't work as many persons think. The only show I kept wondering about over the last year was Reggae Sumfest, how successful was it? Today we got the answer, Joe Bogdanovich announcing that there will be no virtual  Sumfest this year, but they are thinking about a live version for October 2021.

The Jamaica music industry is in shambles, and after 14 months of inactivity we don't seem to have too many options for the next 6 months or so. So the million dollar question is, how many of us can survive this tumultuous period and start over where we left off two years ago when things open up fully? The European festivals are already saying that many of them for 2022 will be for their local performers only. What as an industry can we do to salvage our livelihood ? We need to have some serious  meetings with all stakeholders so we can come up with some viable solutions for the near future. Things are desperate. Frankie Fab 5 

Note: Frankie Campbell is the manager of one of the oldest reggae band in the world, Fab5. They have been in the business since the 1960s and should be approaching nearly 50 years in the business.

The members of Fab5 are manager Frankie Campbell (bass); Harold (Jr) Bailey (guitar, flute, saxophone, and now part-time sound engineer); musical director Grub Cooper (drums and lead vocals); Sidney Thorpe (keyboards); Donovan Lee Palmer (keyboards); Romeo Gray (trombone); Andre Palmer (trumpet); Andrew Cassanova (vocals); and Cleveland Manderson (guitar and vocals) who has been working with the Unique Vision for more than 27 years. Other people perform from time to time as part of the wider Stage Records family.