Skatta Burrell Promises Significant Improvements For Reggae Sumfest Concert Nights This Weekend
Reggae Sumfest’s Marketing Strategist, Skatta Burrell, has announced significant improvements for the festival’s two concert nights this Friday and Saturday.
According to Skatta, attendees can expect smoother band transitions, optimal lighting as well as superior sound quality thanks to the enlistment of top-tier sound engineers.
“Sumfest has the biggest lineup of any festival in the Caribbean and Jamaica. You have a lot of people pulling it in like, ‘oh, I don’t like this and that’. But when you compare us to any show on this island or in the Caribbean, we’re unmatched. We go all out and we put the biggest and the best every single year and we try to improve as well. Some part of doing that, was acknowledging where we went wrong,” Skatta said.
“So I think last year we made some errors with band changes that were a bit long. So this year we strive to make them short and concise and run on time,” Skatta said in a recent interview with Television Jamaica’s The Entertainment Report.
The Coolie Dance producer promised that patrons will enjoy an unparalleled sonic experience this weekend as significant improvements have been made, including enhanced rehearsals and adjustments to band volumes, which will allow artists to be heard clearly without having to strain their voices over the backing music.
“Artists and everybody have to work to see what we’re promoting. Rehearsals, now we try to get the bands to play a little slower, a little bit lower, so people can actually hear the artiste, so they don’t have to shout. We try to get the best engineers to cue up and get the best frequencies coming to your ears, so your ears don’t get frustrated by three hours into the show,” he explained.
“There’s a lot of stuff that has to take place. Best lighting technicians, the light cannot be too loud and all over the place. It has to be shown in the correct places but create a great atmosphere. That’s why a lot of these soca events and other events are really taking a lot of precedence because they go all out. And the Reggae/ Dancehall fraternity need to get with the programme, ” Skatta added.
As to whether or not the issue of performance deficits of less inexperienced performers who “need to get their act together”, has been corrected, Skatta had this to say:
“It will never be corrected until everybody take it upon themselves to do better. You can’t drink, you can’t smoke, but when do you take time out to exercise, to understand that you have to be able to deliver a full set performance without dropping on the stage, dying – and handing the mic to the crowd to sing songs to you”.
Added Skatta: “So the owners and the artists, we can only give them the platform and hope that they do better and better every year.”