Anthony B To Headline Australia’s Multi-Stage Jamaican Music & Food Festival

What do legendary Jamaican artists Bushman, General Levy, Richie Stephens, Mad Professor, Turbulence and Stranger Cole all have in common? They’ve all headlined Australia’s largest and longest-running Jamaican cultural event in Australia: the Jamaican Music and Food Festival, presented by Stick Mareebo Productions. The latest Jamaican superstar to join the list is Anthony B, who will headline this year’s event in Melbourne, Australia on December 7.

If you’re surprised to learn that such an event happens over 15,000 kilometers away from its island namesake, you’re not alone. These visiting Jamaican music stars have each expressed their surprise and amazement at their red-hot reception and have given the event’s two Jamaican-born promoters Stick Mareebo and Zare Demus every encouragement to keep the ‘fyah’ blazing on the far side of the planet.

While the Jamaican-born population in Australia is only a few thousand people, its spirit is strong and most visible in Melbourne, the epi-centre of Australia’s reggae and dancehall music scene. Every year, the Jamaican Music and Food Festival provides a source of cultural pride for Jamaicans living in Australia, and an exciting party destination for thousands of others who love reggae, dub and dancehall music and delicious Jamaican food. Twenty different food vendors will be offering their wares, and the whole event is family-friendly with workshops and activities for children included.

Stick Mareebo, the event’s creator, lovingly refers to JMFF as his very own “fifth child”- one he’s been raising since the mid 2010s. He’s no stranger to promoting reggae and dancehall music either. His music business journey began in Jamaica when he joined his brother-in-law’s sound system, Black Joy Sound. After migrating to Australia in the late 1980s, he worked as a radio DJ on Fox FM and Mix 101.1 FM, before presenting and later touring international artists, including Jamaican (and diaspora) stars such as Shaggy, Tarrus Riley, Ky-mani Marley and Macka B. Before the first Jamaican Music and Food Festival was held, the Australian scene was limited to small events and a smattering of monthly or weekly nights. Stick and his good friend Zare Demus (also an excellent DJ) saw an opportunity to create a proper Jamaican-style party with multiple stages and sound systems, and JMFF was born. It was a natural result of a lifetime’s work for Stick, and perhaps a sign of the times too, as dancehall and reggae music have exploded globally and Australia has matured as a multi-cultural country.

2024 will mark the festival’s ninth edition, with none other than the original fireman himself, Anthony B, rocking the main stage. DJ Banna, Flames Eye and Fitzroy Lee will also be there representing Jamaica, and DJ Double OO is dropping in from the USA.

The event will also showcase the best of Australia’s reggae and dancehall musicians and DJs with welcoming smiles for miles. Running day through night, towering speakers stacks from Heartical Hi-Powa. Goody’s Hi-Fi and Housewife’s Choice will blast out positive vibrations. The full lineup of DJs, MCs and selectors is stacked with Melbourne locals including familiar names like the crews from Adrian’s Wall sound system and Rudi Sound, radio hosts Jesse I and Rick Howe (PBS FM), selectors Anitra, Bellyas, Miss Fee, DJ Dazz, Quashani Bahd and Sista Sara. Queen Big Punch will be there representing New Zealand, while interstate guest performers include Deco ZYMM (Western Australia), JC Crooks (New South Wales) and DJ Sepia (South Australia). The Ras Jahknow Band, Kong and The Dudley Flats Rockers, Skabhangers, Paulo Almeida and Shabba African Star Dance and Drumming will all be performing live.

The 2024 Jamaican Music and Food Festival will be held at Seaworks, in the Melbourne suburb of Williamstown on the 7th of December 2024. The event is partnered with Always Live, a statewide celebration of live music culture which promotes events across Victoria, Australia and is the largest initiative of its kind in the southern hemisphere. The event is supported by the Victorian Government and the Hobsons Bay city council, along with drink sponsors Mountain Goat beer and Appleton rum; the key ingredient in the festival’s signature rum punch.

With Anthony B’s stellar showmanship on offer and a rammed entertainment roster of Jamaican, American and antipodean talent spread across four stages, this year’s Jamaican Music and Food Festival looks set to be the party of the year for Australia’s reggae and dancehall massive. Tickets are available now via Eventbrite.