Reggae Pilgrimages: Festivals and the Movement of Jah People

Since its emergence in the mid-1970s, Reggae has had a truly global impact around issues of freedom, unity and human rights. Using reggae festivals as the main site of inquiry, Reggae Pilgrimages accounts for the expansion of the reggae musical landscape through global festivals on all continents with a community of pilgrims united around sound. Looking at the proliferation of festivals – large concert events featuring reggae music – from the US to the UK, reaching to Europe, Asia and Australia and across the Middle East and throughout Africa, it will document, exhibit, publicize and archive the significant impact of reggae and key icons. It will address the process by which reggae and the identity of its community are changed, altered and interpreted as they traverse the globe and explore the political significance of these festival spaces for the complex worldwide network of reggae pilgrims.