From the first week of June to the first week of August, 2018, I took an internship with Glory Music Productions in Kingston, Jamaica. Under the leadership of Mr. Tommy Cowan, Carlene Davis, and Naomi Cowan, I helped to produce the 14th “Jamaica Fun in the Son” Music Festival and its surrounding events. For over two decades, Jamaica Fun in the Son has been one the largest music festival in the Caribbean, drawing out over 45,000 attendees on July 22nd. We held three events in anticipation of the festival and canvased the island with hundreds of thousands of advertisements to draw out thousands of families. A small, core team of half a dozen people, including myself, came together to make this massive festival a success. My position was to tackle any task the Glory Music team was unprepared to handle and make the Cowan’s lives easier. Every day was an incredible learning experience, be it meeting with Ministers Grange (The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sport) at the National Stadium to discuss event security logistics or designing the stage for a Father’s Day World Cup Viewing Lunch held to feed 3000 fatherless boys lunch and dinner.
Much of my time was devoted to Jamaica Fun in the Son but equally as much was spent on artist development. This year, Naomi Cowan was a headliner on the final Sunday night concert of Reggae Sum Fest in Montego Bay, along with Damian Marley, J Boog, Maxi Priest many more. I was Naomi’s photographer, social media coordinator and production assistant for her performance and the time surrounding it. In assisting Naomi with 7 hours of interviews in the Media Tent of Reggae Sumfest, I learned how much goes behind presenting an artist to the public and what my major at UM was created for. More than anything, I saw how endless the career possibilities within my field are. It’s the specific and integral positions required to bring music to the world that MADE primes you for- be it artistry, management or even festival production. From 2 months spent booking and paying artists, shooting high budget music videos, and handling the day to day of artist development, I saw how many opportunities there are in the industry if you’re willing to fully commit yourself and work hard. I was unbelievably blessed to learn so much from people who truly shaped their industry and the music I love. Going forward, I’m excited to continue to work with my friends in Jamaica and make new connections between Caribbean artists and American music.
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