NO “SOUL IN THE SUN” CONCERT FOR MONTEGO BAY THIS YEAR!

 By Richard Johnson—

 Top: Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle at last year’s concert.

 Bottom: Promoter Junior Taylor—

THE three-day music festival, Soul in the Sun, first staged last October will not be held this year.

This was confirmed by executive producer Junior Taylor in an interview with the Jamaica Observer.

“There will be no show this year. The rationale is that based on the current economic climate as well as the weak level of sponsorship support that we have received,” said Taylor, “Even if we provide a ticket price at a cost that our patrons could afford, we would only be netting a fraction of our overall budget and this does not include a major, big-name artist,” he continued.

Taylor further explained that, with the general downturn in record sales globally, artists are now turning to live performances to recoup some of this lost income. As a result, the fees being charged by international acts have doubled over the past 10 years. This, he said, pushes his overall budget even higher as his line-up is generally 80-90 per cent overseas acts.

Jeffrey Osborne

“The royalty checks are no longer the size they used to be, so no, the artist earns from performing. Right now, the talent fees are one of our highest fees. The average act is about 10-12 persons and we have to be responsible for their travel and accommodation outside of the performance fees, then there is production to ensure a world-class production, plus advertising to get the word out… There are people today who said they didn’t hear about last year’s show despite the fact that we spent millions on advertising. So staging the event this year is prohibitive.”

But all is not lost, as Taylor disclosed that he and his team are headed back to the drawing board to see how best they can provide an entertainment package that provides value for money for both patrons and corporate entities interested in sponsoring the event.

The Crowd at Soul In The Sun

“We have not given up… it just won’t be for this year. We are looking to return with the full weekend of activities in 2016. Soul in the Sun is a niche event. There are potential sponsors who are targeting this market segment, but what they are putting forward is still not sufficient to go ahead, so a lot of work still needs to be done. But like I said, we have not given up. A one-night concert is being looked at this time. The who and where is still to be determined. We are too late for October but it will be before Christmas,” said Taylor.

An inaugural staging of Soul In the Sun was held at The Aqueduct in Rose Hall, St James and saw acts such as Dru Hill, Silk, Keith Sweat, Howard Hewett, Regina Belle, Peabo Bryson, and Jeffrey Osborne taking to the stage.