RFUK NETWORKING PARTY - SUNDAY 13TH DECEMBER 2015

by Coral Consciouslee

18th December 2015

I write with a now deeper respect for artists, DJs, promoters, producers, engineers, musicians and all other aspects of the music industry.

 

On Sunday 13^th December 2015, Reggae Fraternity UK had our very first major event. The preparation and work that went into it – for me - was a boot camp training to what it takes to plan, arrange and host an event.  Let me tell you about the RFUK Team of which I am honoured to be a member of.  The team consists of 7 individuals who share a passion for promoting excellence and professionalism especially in UK Reggae.  I am amongst 5 artists and one other who between them have decades of musical experience, who also are creative in other aspects and have professional qualifications in other fields to bring to the table.  Me? I am fortunate that for some divine or universal reason I have been placed to be in this position. 

Since April 2015 we have slowly but surely gained the measure of each other, our strengths and abilities and how best to utilise what we have between us for the good of the organisation. It’s voluntary, but the keyword we use is “professionalism”.  To that end we have had to pull together in honesty and integrity to make sure we deliver on the words that are spoken in our meetings or that one may see on our facebook pages, blogs and on our website.

 You can imagine what planning our first event was like.  What I initially thought would be a simple straightforward procedure (I tend to think very simplistically), had to be broken down and planned very carefully to the tiniest detail. Can you imagine the volume of phone calls, emails, Skype meetings and face to face meetings that took place over the last few months – considering that RFUK only started in April? 

 

However as plans for the event started to take shape, I thought about the artists and those who would be coming, would know and feel we had brought this event together to show how much we thought of UK Reggae Artists and hopefully give an insight in how things could work if we in the UK pulled together.

For me it was an event that I will never forget. By 7pm, sound check was complete, security and ticket collectors were ready, DJ Mikey Notch from Thirdimension Sound (RJR Radio) was playing UK Reggae music, bar staff was ready, the allocated artists area was secure.  We were ready and waiting.  I imagined the thought that goes through every promoters head as I walked through the venue, checking and rechecking everything: Is anyone coming? If so, how many were coming? More importantly WHAT TIME would they be coming? 

We needn’t have worried.  As if planned, it seemed that everyone started arriving at the same time.  For the next couple of hours there was a steady stream of artists, producers, promoters, members of the public.  It got so busy I didn’t realise until the compere came on the stage that the place was full! When did that happen?  Not that I was complaining or anything! 

 

The artists were excellent! They sang as if they were at Wembley Arena! I confess that sometimes I forgot that it was actually our event and could be found at the front of the crowd, camera in hand screaming in reckless abandon.  I clapped my hands; I clicked my camera and then would dash off to make sure everything was in order.  This wasn’t just somewhere where artists got up and sang because there was a mic; the audience were treated to a first class show.  The atmosphere was exciting, magical, electric, guaranteed to change whatever mood one was in, into a happy, carefree one – even if only for a few hours.

One of my main pleasures at such events is watching artists catch up with each other.  I like observing the men standing chatting and the women sitting together laughing and listening to each other intently.  Artists are human too! 

 

There were touching moments: Sutara Ji (a.k.a. Lorna Gee) in tears on stage as she sang Louisa Mark’s Sixth Street with Carroll Thompson. The eruption of the crowd as Lorna Gee came back on the stage to “toast/rap/ride” the rhythm as only she can. The artists congratulating each other as they came off stage. My shock and surprise at being invited on to the stage to be presented with a birthday cake and having the whole room sing me happy birthday.  It was beautiful – all of it.

As I write, I look at my handbag and see the business cards and contact details of artists and other individuals from the music industry who wish to be involved with what Reggae Fraternity UK are trying to achieve – I was given all of those cards last night.  Sunday night was a success.  Yes... there are things that we will tweak and improve upon, but we achieved our goal.  We showed that by uniting and working together, by staying focused and having a common aim, we can achieve great things indeed.  We can achieve an event where top UK Reggae Artists were more than happy to attend and support the next generation of artists coming up.  As I walked around the room, the celebrities in attendance read like a who’s who in UK Reggae. All of this in a few short months.

As we drove home, there was so much to reflect upon: Promoting UK Reggae Excellence = Reggae Fraternity UK.