Plantation, FL: South Florida will come alive with the pulsating sounds and multifaceted history of Jamaican music at the 2nd annual Reggae Genealogy music festival on Sunday, February 2, 2025, from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The northeast parking lot at Broward Mall in the City of Plantation will be transformed into a lively concert venue where attendees will enjoy an immersive journey through Jamaica’s unparalleled musical legacy in celebration of Reggae Month. Tickets for Reggae Genealogy are available at reggaegenealogy.org/tickets.
Produced by Island SPACE Caribbean Museum, this family-friendly showcase will begin by tracing the early beginnings of popular Jamaican music, prior to Jamaican independence from Britain in 1962, to the present, touching on mento, ska, nyabinghi, rocksteady, lovers rock, dub, reggae and dancehall. Performers including industry legends like Ernie Smith, Eric “Monty” Morris, Wayne Armond, Ambelique and more will perform musical features alongside Code Red Band and lead singer Bobby Rose, as well as dancers from Carimer Theatre, captivating the audience with a slew of hits from yesteryear. In Act I, the story will be narrated by effervescent Jamaican Consul General Oliver Mair, whose theatrical background will lend levity to the early evening events.
Later, in Act II, the showcase will also highlight the influence of Jamaican music on genres such as dub, pop, reggaeton and Afrobeats, in a current and future musical journey curated and performed in part by DJ GQ of Y100. Entertainers like Bigg G, Phil Watkins, VP Records diva Shuga and more will lend contemporary musical stylings to the night.
Ahead of this rhythmic melding of entertainment and learning, attendees can come out early to enjoy free museum tours, events and activities, food and shopping in the event area as well as inside the mall. Gates for the Reggae Genealogy concert open at 4 p.m. with showtime at 6 p.m. Tickets range from $15 for early purchase to $75 for full-priced VIP. Find tickets, sponsorship, vendor and volunteer information at www.reggaegenealogy.org
Lifetime Achievement Awards
The nation’s only Caribbean heritage museum, Island SPACE, will present three Jamaican music industry icons with Lifetime Achievement Awards, reprising one of the most anticipated elements of the 2024 Reggae Genealogy staging. In 2025, Inner Circle—the Bad Boys of Reggae, Wayne Wonder—singer of the timeless “No Letting Go,” and Donovan Germain—the producer behind countless hits by Buju Banton and others, will receive the coveted honors.
The 2024 recognitions went to an all female slate including “Miss Pat” Chin—co-founder of VP Records, the Queen of Reggae—Marcia Griffiths, and entrepreneur, author and head of the Marley empire—Cedella Marley.
Donovan Germain evolved from a Jamaica-born, New York accountant with a reggae record shop side hustle to a full-fledged record producer in the late 1970s, founding Penthouse Records in 1988. Recognized for its sophisticated sound and international appeal, Penthouse propelled the careers of artists like Wayne Wonder, Buju Banton and Beres Hammond, while also modernizing classic riddims.
Wayne Wonder, born Von Wayne Charles, rose to prominence in the late 1980s as a reggae singer with a unique blend of soulful vocals and heartfelt lyrics. By the 1990s, Wonder began gaining recognition for hits like “Saddest Day” and collaborations such as “Bonafide Love” with Buju Banton. His 2003 album No Holding Back and the single “No Letting Go” catapulted him to global fame, earning a Grammy nomination and No. 11 placement on the Billboard Hot 100 music chart.
The iconic band Inner Circle was formed in 1968 by brothers Ian and Roger Lewis, enjoying success with Jacob Miller as their frontman until his untimely death in 1980. Later, Inner Circle gained global recognition with legendary hits like “Sweat (A La La La La Long)” and “Bad Boys,” the latter becoming the theme song for the TV show COPS and inspiring the title of the blockbuster movie franchise. The band is still active today, with multiple enterprises including Circle House Studios, where names like Alicia Keys, Pharrell Williams and Lil Wayne have recorded hits, and with a planned appearance at Coachella in April 2025.
Pre-Event Industry Panel
Ahead of Reggae Genealogy, Island SPACE will welcome another slate of industry stalwarts: Ian Lewis of Inner circle, Grammy Award-winning producer Jason “J-Vibe” Farmer, selecta Supa Twitch and dancehall diva and influencer Tifa. The museum will orchestrate an insightful panel discussion that promises an exploration of the roots and influencers of modern Jamaican music. On Saturday, January 18 from 5-7 p.m., the panel titled “The Gentrification of Jamaican Music” will be held at Island SPACE Caribbean Museum inside the Broward Mall.
The panel will examine the evolution of Jamaican music as other genres have seeped into the native rhythms to either dilute or enhance the music, depending on the listener’s perspective. The discussion, moderated by radio personality G. Cole, is a prelude to the Reggae Genealogy music festival. Tickets for the panel discussion are available at reggaegenealogy.org/2025panel.
Support and Background
Reggae Genealogy is powered by Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) and by Grace Tropical Rhythms, presented in partnership with Broward Mall and the City of Plantation, and made possible in part by the support of the Broward County Cultural Division, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Visit Lauderdale, Only the Best Printing, the Jamaica Tourist Board, Mabi Artisanal Tea, and the following funds at the Community Foundation of Broward: Judith Cornfeld Fund for the Arts, Helen and Frank Stoykov Charitable Endowment Fund and The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation Broward Community Fund.
Island Society for the Promotion of Artistic and Cultural Education (Island SPACE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of arts, culture, history, and educational initiatives that represent the Caribbean region, in South Florida and the broader diaspora. The public is invited to visit the Caribbean museum Thursdays through Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. through 7:00 p.m. and Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. General museum entry is $10 per adult and $5 per child. Visit www.islandspacefl.org to learn more.
