Reggae: Past, Present and Future

I spent most of yesterday reviewing the history of the conflict over Reggae for a piece that comes out tomorrow, in part by looking back to the stories I wrote for the North Coast Journal since November. It occurred to me that some people coming to this site have no idea what transpired. Those interested in a crash course (from one journalist's perspective) are invited to read these Journal stories from the last nine months:




Basic intro: Clash Over Reggae - Nov. 16, 2006
A long piece detailing the beginning of the rift with back history. It hit the street the day before the fateful Nov. 2006 Mateel Membership meeting. It's far from perfect, but should serve as a primer.

SoHum in Counseling - Nov. 23, 2006
A report on the Mateel's annual membership meeting.

Crisis at the Mateel - Dec. 21, 2006
From the Journal's year-end wrap-up, Top Ten Stories (Scroll down: Reggae was No. 8.)

The Hum: Forever - Jan. 25, 2007
More or less a status update at the beginning of my weekly music column.

Reggae River Rising - Feb. 22, 2007
Reggae Rising announced - Mateel files suit.

The Journal's annual Summer Festival Guide May 23, 2007
It led with a Reggae news update and a comparison to other local festival troubles.

And for a flashback to brighter days, we'll end with Why Reggae? August 12, 2004
A cover story exploring Reggae from various viewpoints.

And Reggae Redux with photos from Reggae 2001

One more thing, look for a major piece on the Reggae conflict in the San Francisco Chronicle in the next few of days (Thursday?) by entertainment writer Joel Selvin. I had a long chat with him the other day (on background) maybe you did too.

Labels: reggae festival