User:JazzReggaeFest/JazzReggaeFestivalAtUCLA

Introduction
The JazzReggae Festival at UCLA, is a two day celebration of music, art, culture, and diversity held every Memorial Day Weekend on the UCLA Intramural Field. Featuring artists such as Jill Scott, Buju Banton, The Roots, Beenie Man, and Stephen Marley,as well as unique opportunities to experience new ethnic foods, crafts and cultures, the event has been highly acclaimed by the press, artists, and the Los Angeles community as one of California’s premiere concerts in both Jazz and Reggae genres.

History
Despite the festival's current reputation as one of Los Angeles's essential yearly events, the concert began in 1986 with humble intentions. Originally held at the UCLA Sunset Canyon Recreation Center, the one day Jazz Festival at UCLA was created to provide more avenues for student musicians to perform in front of the public. As time moved on and interest in the event increased, a shift in focus occurred, and the festival began to pursue hiring professional musicians. Soon afterwards, a second day featuring Reggae music was added to the annual festival, and it was moved to it's current location at the UCLA Intramural Field, where a much larger audience could be accommodated.

After many years of maintaining this format, 2007 marked the most recent structural change to the festival. Instead of limiting day one of the festival to jazz music alone, Jam Day was created to incorporate the tremendous spectrum of music that has also been strongly influenced by the jazz genre. This has allowed the festival to continue hiring premier jazz musicians such as Dr. Lonnie Smith, while also giving opportunities to up and coming stars such as Lupe Fiasco.

Going Green
2007 also marked the year that the Jazz Reggae Festival put forth an active effort to be as environmentally sustainable as possible. Since 2007 the festival has run their stage from bio-diesel fuel, partnered with environmentally forward thinking companies such as Eco Limo, printed their flyers and other promotional material on recycled paper, and included an informational booth on site in which audience members can learn more about ways to be environmentally responsible.

Producers
The Jazz Reggae Festival is one of the largest student run events in the United States, and each year is produced by current UCLA students.

Previous Line Ups
2008

2007