Words by Jesse Serwer and Erin MacLeod
Photo: Reggae Summerjam
Summer couldn’t come any sooner this year. Springtime, which usually brings us sunshine, flowers and other pleasantries, has this year decided to claim some of our most irreplaceable talents and hand us some of the coldest temperatures we can ever recall experiencing at this time of year. Fortunately, it has to get better soon; we know this because the summer festival season is about to be upon us.
If you’re a lover of reggae and other island sounds who doesn’t get to live year-round in the Caribbean, summer is your time of year. This is especially true in Europe and the United States, where you can find your way to worthy open-air fests just about any weekend between late May and early September. And, while most major music events in the Caribbean itself tend to take place in the winter months, the summer brings a handful of great ones to the region, including the St. Kitts Music Festival and Reggae Sumfest in Jamaica.
To get you prepped for the season, here’s our annual look at the summer’s best Caribbean-focused music festivals.