Mo'Bay, Jamaica: Sumfest 2015

Three years ago, I remember writing about the ultimate "African experience:" a trip to Malawi's Lake of Stars (as well as a few misfortunes) with a pretty fabulous group of fellow global health and development nuts. Well, sadly, those days are gone. We're all scattered: some with families, some engaged, and some still venturing all over.

So imagine my delight when a little piece of that "African experience" made its way with me to Montego Bay, Jamaica for Reggae Sumfest 2015: the ultimate reggae and international music experience.

My fun-filled weekend in Montego Bay (known on the island as "Mo'Bay") started with a fun car-ride down with my friend Stefan and a few of his friends from Kenya. A few hours (and a few Red Stripes later), we made it to one of my favorite parts of Jamaica.

The view from where we stayed.

What a view! 

Official sponsor of Sumfest

After a short walk and a quick dinner of pumpkin soup, we headed off to the ultimate Reggae festival. In its 23rd year, Sumfest has become recognized for "Promoting music, the universal force." Though we initially thought it would be a few hours of music and dancing, we soon learned we were in for an all-night (and morning) extravaganza.

The night for us started around 9:30 pm, when we arrived at to start our night in the V.I.P. section for the festival's night of Dancehall music, a genre created and popularized in Jamaican as a spin-off from Reggae. The first couple of hours had some lesser known performers, but with their crazy costumes, hairstyles, and dance moves, it made for a good start to the night.

One of the early night, unknown performers. 

Ishawna in her barely-there giddup... 

Ding Dong came off the stage and onto the fence right in
front of us!

I had listened to a few Dancehall songs in advance, so I was really excited when some crowd favorites sung songs I could hum along too!

Dexta Daps singing "7eleven"

I think this was Konshens. 

Gully Bop, a crowd favorite known for his personal journey
from rags to riches. 

Perhaps one of the highlights of Dancehall night is the crazy, booty-shaking dancing moves that, frankly, seem unnatural! Among the night's craziest dance performances: Spice.

Climbing up a pole to "whine"

After five or six hours of music, food, and drinks, I was admittedly feeling a little tired. But we were still waiting for some of the big headliners, so we kept going!

Stefan and I at at 3 AM? 4 AM? I lost track...

International superstar I-Octane, singing crowd favorites
like "Wine and Jiggle" and "Love di vibes" and "Happy Time."

A LOT of people made it out for the night! 

Well, at least some of us kept going...

Guess our friends needed a nap.

As the sun started to rise (and our energy started to dwindle), some of the biggest performers came out and got us on our feet.

Capleton performs with tons of energy as the sun starts to come up. 

The performer I'd been waiting all night (and morning): Lady Saw - historic "deejay" (aka: rapper), the Queen of Dancehall, and the first woman to close Sumfest since the festival started in 1993. 

Known for decades of top performances, including some deep songs  (like "Infertility") and raunchier Dancehall favorites (my choice: "Heels On"), Lady Saw came out of retirement (again) to shake up the crowd and bring some controversy to the night.

I loved that she took off her wig during the performance to allow her "natural self" to shine but definitely felt uncomfortable with her display of the aggressive (and violent) behavior she's become known for. 

Trying to get Lady Saw's autograph.

The police wanted autographs too!

After hours of non-stop music, the crowd of hundreds (or thousands?) finally started to clear out.

What a mess! 

I'd say that for more than 9 hours of singing and dancing, we still looked pretty good!

Me and Stefan

After the excitement and energy of the Dancehall night performances, we decided not to attend the International Night performances featuring global stars like Common and Jennifer Hudson. I wanted to keep the experience "strictly Jamaican" and opted to spend the rest of the weekend laying by the beach.

What a fun way to sneak in a summer holiday at Sumfest 2015!