Reggae Fest promoter: Event has hit big league

By John Benson

Imagine taking your favorite iPod playlist and scheduling a corresponding three-day concert.

Such an envious scenario is pretty much what Midwest Reggae Fest Promoter/Producer Patrick “Packy” Malley does every year with his annual celebration of Jamaican music.

This leads us to the 18th annual Midwest Reggae Fest, which takes place Friday through Sunday at Nelson Ledges Quarry Park.

“I can’t believe it lasted this long,” said Malley, a Cleveland-area resident. “I mean, it’s rather remarkable how fast time flies by. Over the years, it’s slowly become a consistent profitable event, breaking even or even making a little bit of money. It’s never really gone in the red, so it’s afforded me the chance to do this every year.

“But with this year, it’s really taken on a huge expense because it’s now one of the biggest lineups in the United States for any reggae festival. We have 18 groups coming and nine of them are from Jamaica. I mean, this is a full-blown, major-league reggae festival.

And some of the national publications are calling it one of the premiere reggae festivals in the United States. So I’m pretty excited and mighty proud.”

While Malley expects attendance in the 3,000 range, he pointed out if the Midwest Reggae Fest were in Southern California or south Florida, it would attract 10,000 to 15,000 people.

“Beres Hammond is hands-down one of the most popular reggae artists in Jamaica,” Malley said. “He’s gigantic down there. And for the last 40 years, Freddie McGregor has been a legend down in Jamaica. There’s brand-new talent on the scene with two guys named Tarrus Riley and Duane Stephenson. And then of course, Bob Marley’s original Wailers will be on the show on Sunday so people are quite excited about that as well.

“And don’t forget about the Wailing Souls. They were also on the soundtrack to ‘Cool Runnings.’ Those guys are awesome. Those guys are like a legendary vocal harmony group out of Jamaica.”

Even though more than a quarter of a century has passed since his death, the specter of Bob Marley still looms heavy over reggae music – roughly 50 percent of all reggae album sales belong to Marley’s catalog – and the Midwest Reggae Fest.

“Bob is still the gospel, no doubt about it,” Malley said.

Another part of Marley’s legend stems from the use of a certain cannabis plant, which for some folks has them pre-judging what the Midwest Reggae Fest is all about.

“Most people are really surprised when they come out and see how incredibly mellow the whole thing is,” Malley said. “It’s not at all as crazy as people think it is.”

Hmm, mellow? Yeah, that makes sense.

“People are always amazed when they come to the reggae festival and they see how many fans are out there and how many different kinds of people are out there enjoying themselves,” Malley said. “So I really can’t say it’s like a college crowd, because it’s not. There are a lot of college kids out there but there are also a lot of people in their 60s out there, too. And there are a lot of families and a cross-cultural mix.

“It’s a big-time family event. There are lifeguards on the beach, there are tons of kids out there and a children’s play area. I just let people come out and be surprised on their own.”