Junior Reid, veteran reggae singer and conceptualiser of the One Blood Family Fest, says the objective of the event is to reclaim Jamaica’s cultural impact on the world.

“The reason for this festival is to firm up the foundation of the music right now. Where the music used to be, it’s not there right now. You used to have time when Bob Marley and [the] Commodores dem ram up place like Central Park [in New York], Radio City, and nuff big place and we as Jamaican artiste ah shine di light out there [so] that other international artistes haffi really follow our footsteps. But now, we find like we ah follow and yuh see if we follow, wi aguh lose wi culture and lose di legacy,” Reid said at the media launch of the festival at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Tuesday.

The One Blood Family Fest is slated for June 3 at Plantation Cove in St Ann. It will also be Reid’s official 60th birthday celebration.

The event boasts a line-up of veteran and contemporary roots artistes such as Fred Locks, Cedric Myton (of The Congos), Winston McAnuff, Jahmiel, I Wayne, Warrior King, Kiddus-I, Big Youth, and Chezidek.

Meanwhile, Reid suggests that the reason for the loss experienced in cultural music is because of the heavy use of technology and limited opportunities, which has caused many youngsters to deviate from certain practices.

“When yuh check it now, Brazil, Australia…all over di worl’, yuh find seh the younger youths dem know how fi play acoustic and know how fi play di real drum, and yuh see our youths dem, weh dem put our youths pon is di laptop. [They are taught] how to play the bass on the laptop, how fi play di drum on the laptop. So, later on, when wi go ah foreign, di youths dem haffi si our music weh we play an’ dem cyaan really do dat. Mi cyaan afford fi dem ting deh gwaan,” Reid said. “Di reason yuh find dem ting deh gwaan is because of lack of opportunity on platforms.”

Reid joined Black Uhuru in 1986, replacing Mykal Roze. He had two big hits with the group, Great Train Robbery and Fit You Haffe Fit, before going solo again two years later.

He returned to the charts with the self-produced One Blood, featuring keyboardist Tony “Asher” Brissett, saxophonist Dean Fraser, bass player Chris Meredith, drummer Cleveland Browne, and guitarist Dalton Browne.