Reggae Sumfest To Expand To Brazil And Ghana

Reggae Sumfest is spreading its wings beyond Jamaica.

For the festival’s 2025 staging, organizer Joe Bogdanovich is eyeing an earlier show date in Brazil.

“Right now, we’re looking at Brazil,” the Downsound Entertainment principal recently shared on The Truth is Real podcast. “We’re negotiating a deal in Brazil for May, this upcoming ‘25 year.”

Dubbed the ‘greatest reggae festival on Earth’, Reggae Sumfest has long called Montego Bay, St. James, home, attracting locals and foreigners at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Complex. It had its inaugural staging in 1993 thanks to Summerfest Promotions, following a similar model as its forerunner Reggae Sunsplash. 

Bogdanovich purchased the festival in 2016, driving transformative change like the introduction of livestreaming for those in the Diaspora and worldwide who desire to experience the show.

Looking ahead, the prominent businessman is ready to engage more proposals to take the festival to more countries. 

“We’re also looking at Ghana,” he shared. “A lot of people want Reggae Sumfest there and we think we’re ready to do that now, and we have a team that’s a very good – production team – and we got people that are reaching out too, so we’re gonna take them up on their proposals.”

Reggae Sumfest is unfolding at its usual base on Friday and Saturday, with highly anticipated acts, including YG Marley, Babyface, and Beres Hammond, on the roster. 

Though his legacy in Jamaica centers around his work on the festival and with artists on his label, Bogdanovich is looking to launch other events. His team already has experience with the wide range of events offered during the week-long festivities counting down to the show days. 

“When it comes to Downsound, we’re looking to produce other kinds of shows because we’re interested in all sorts and kinds of music, and being able to build the vibes up good and the production, a lot of fun and it’s just music,” he said. “For me, music is the message and keep the politics out and understand that you got be able to represent yourself correctly and represent your country and give it some class.”