Dubwise seizes the ‘moment’ at Reggae Sumfest

Standing tall between the speaker stacks on the main stage of Reggae Sumfest 2024, Jason Panton proudly guided the audience through the 'Wray Moment' on Night Two of the festival.

The 16-minute set, sponsored by Wray and Nephew White Overproof Rum, had Panton, the founder and principal of Dubwise, as the conductor of vibes. The set started with the Jamaica National Anthem, and as persons stood at attention, the classic sounds of Bob Marley's One Love and Dennis Brown's Here I Come echoed through the speakers, telling of a reggae revolution that was about to begin. Spun by DJ Mucho, the crowd reacted warmly to the music of legends, including Brown's Revolution, Barrington Levy's Black Roses, and Marley's Don't Worry. This was just the way Panton said he planned the set.

"I understand Jamaican people, and I knew I just needed to warm them up and assure them I wasn't going to chat too much. I started to hear some horns go off and I felt the energy we were putting out on stage returned to us as they sang out," Panton said. "We were having a blast on stage with the dancers, flags ... and speaker boxes really helped to warm up the stage and helped to build a visual and energetic moment for Wray & Nephew and Dubwise. We had our own party on stage, which I believe created an infectious energy that was transferred to the audience."

Night Two patrons also enjoyed some younger generation reggae artistes such as Sizzla, Protoje, Chronixx, Jesse Royal.

"Wray Moment was important for the festival because as a brand, we are serious about Jamaican culture and entertainment. The patrons were taken on a journey of our music and to highlight one of the emerging artistes in the genre -- [roots reggae singer] Samory I," said Dominic Bell, communications manager, J. Wray and Nephew Ltd. Samory I rocked the crowd with Outside, his collaboration with Lila Ike, Blood In the Streets, and closed the set with his 2017 track Rasta Nuh Gangsta.

Panton said that for him, as a Jamaican, it was a special feeling of pride and excitement to be asked to represent reggae, Rasta and his brand Dubwise "at what I would consider the Olympics of Jamaican music".

"In many ways, if you play Reggae Sumfest, it means you 'mek it' and your work has been noticed enough to get called up for service," said Panton.