Sun | Oct 5, 2025
The Classics

Jamaican Reggae Festival marred by crowd chaos

Published:Friday | October 3, 2025 | 7:30 AM
Big Youth works the dub at the Jamaica Reggae show at the Felt Forum, Madison Square Garden, over the weekend of September 15 and 16, 1973.

The inaugural Jamaican Reggae Festival at New York’s Madison Square Garden faced disruption when Big Youth, performing early on Saturday night, sparked a surge of fans to the stage. Dressed in a vibrant red, green, and gold poncho with a tasseled headdress, the Rastafarian singer’s arrival saw audience members break ranks, climb onto the stage, and skank along with him, forcing a temporary halt to the show. Police were called to restore order, and the remainder of the line-up struggled to match Big Youth’s impact. 

Published Tuesday, September 18, 1973

At the Felt Forum – Big Youth Stops the Reggae Festival

By Barbara Gloudon


Big Youth was the show-stopper at the two-day Jamaican Reggae Festival, the first of its kind to be staged at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The promoter, Earl Harris, assembled a line-up of some of the island’s leading reggae talent for a show on Saturday night and another on Sunday night, presented in the Felt Forum, one of the entertainment areas of the Garden, a venue many primarily associate with boxing.


The Inner Circle band performed, along with Ernie Smith, Hopeton Lewis, Lorna Bennett, Scotty, Funky Brown, Scorch, and the Heptones. Miss Jamaica 1973, Patsy Yuen, was a special guest and paraded both nights, as did the 1973 Costume Queen Sonya Hamilton, who showcased Jim Nelson’s costume 'Time Flies', sponsored by Air Jamaica.


Emcees included Tony Verity of RJR, Gilbert Bailey, a Jamaican disc jockey with FM station WHBI, and Jeff Barnes, another DJ who has made his name in New York radio.
Thousands of Jamaicans and black Americans attended the two-night shows at the Felt Forum. On Saturday night, Big Youth, the Rastafarian singer, appeared early in the line-up — a decision that proved to be a grave error. From the moment he came on, dressed in a huge poncho of red, green, and gold, with a tasseled headdress around his dreadlocks, fans broke ranks, rushed from their seats, and crowded to the front of the theatre. Some even got on stage and skanked along with him.


Repeated calls for the audience to return to their seats were ignored. Eventually, it was announced that the show would be stopped if they did not comply, allowing others a chance to see the performance. It took many minutes, with police assistance, before order was restored. Then the Jamaicans, many of them Rastafarians, joined Big Youth to sing along with some of his most popular hits.


Every performer who followed lived in Big Youth’s shadow, but the show progressed fairly smoothly to the close of the night.


For Sunday night, the production team, which included Ronnie Nasralla, changed the order of appearance, and Big Youth closed the show. Fans again charged the stage but, by then, it did not disrupt the proceedings as it had the night before.


There was some disappointment at the absence of Bob Marley and the Wailers, who were scheduled to perform but did not travel to New York as planned. No reason was given for their non-participation.


The week in New York was also a Jamaican promotional event, with Jamaica Tourist Board officials and representatives of hotels and resorts touring the city. On Friday, there was a display at the Commodore Hotel showcasing Jamaican goods and travel materials, presented by the Board in conjunction with Air Jamaica and the Jamaica Progressive League.


The day ended with an entertainment programme featuring fashions from the Jamaica Fashion Guild and Jamaican designers based in New York, along with performances by the Chateau of Stars and the House of Kings. Miss Jamaica was presented to the audience and received a bouquet from Miss Jamaica-USA, Valerie Topping. Ernie Smith performed, and there was more music from Hugh Hendricks and the Buccaneers, a Jamaican band based in New York.
On Sunday afternoon, a religious service was held in Brooklyn, with the Rev John McNab as preacher.


Several Jamaican dignitaries were in town, including the Hon P.J. Patterson and advisers, who stopped over en route from trade talks in Japan. Jack Stephenson, parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Tourism, gave a speech at the Friday evening proceedings at the Commodore, and attended the opening night of the Reggae Festival.

For feedback: contact the Editorial Department at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com.