Reggae Online

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and we continue the important conversations around healing, wellness, resilience, and hope.

This week we explore grief, emotional recovery, and the journey toward finding joy again.

🗓 Monday, May 25, 2026
⏰ 12 Noon JA Time
📍 LIVE on YouTube:

Grief touches all of us differently, but conversation, community, and compassion can help light the way forward.

Join our lunch time conversation.

181 years ago, on May 10, 1845, the first group of South Asian indentured labourers arrived in Jamaica aboard the ship Maidstone. They came carrying memories of another homeland, crossing oceans into uncertainty, hardship, displacement, and struggle. Many faced brutal working conditions, cultural isolation, and the difficult task of rebuilding life far from everything they knew.

Yet from those struggles grew resilience, community, and legacy.

Today, Indo-Jamaicans remain an essential part of the fabric of Jamaica — shaping our food, language, business, music, spirituality, politics, and culture in ways both visible and deeply woven into everyday life. From curry and roti to entrepreneurship, education, art, and public service, the contributions of the Indian community continue to enrich the story of Jamaica.

Indian Arrival Day is not only a remembrance of arrival — it is also a recognition of survival, endurance, adaptation, and belonging.

To all who carry this legacy forward: we honour the journey, the sacrifices, and the generations who helped build the Jamaica we know today.

Happy Jamaican Indian Arrival Day / Indian Survival Day 2026 🇯🇲🇮🇳

We had such a blast in Rockaz Book Club this first part of 2026! As facilitators, we all work in academia, and as summer rolls around, we get a little break to relax, reflect, travel, and tackle other projects.
So, Rockaz will be taking a short pause until September. If you’re a book club member and want to lead other reads, we’d love to hear from you! If you’re curious about what we’re all doing during our breaks, feel free to follow our individual accounts—some of us share more, some share less 😂. Have a happy summer, and we’ll see you in September!

Sometimes healing looks like colour, sound, movement… creation.

Join us LIVE on Lounge Lyme as we explore Healing Through Creativity - a conversation on art, expression, and the ways the arts helps us process, restore, and reclaim ourselves.
Featuring:
✨ Leslie Ann Belnavis Elliot
✨ Debbie Ann Chambers

🗓 Monday, May 11, 2026
⏰ 10:00 AM JA Time
📍 (YouTube)

This one is for anyone who has ever turned to the arts to make sense of life.
Come ready to listen, reflect… and maybe even begin your own healing journey.

NEW EPISODE ALERT

Episode 6 of Inside the Vocal Salon is LIVE!

This time, Michael Sean Harris dives into the high-stakes world of voice competitions—and what it really takes to prepare singers to step on that stage and deliver 🔥

From smart song selection to stage presence, confidence, and handling pressure… this episode is packed with gems for voice teachers, vocal coaches, and singers ready to level up.

If you’ve ever worked with (or been) a competition contestant—this one is for YOU.
🎧 Watch & listen now
🔗 Link in bio
💬 Drop a comment: What’s the biggest challenge when preparing for a competition?
📲 Share this with a singer or coach who needs it
❤️ Like, save, and follow for more

60 years after the historic visit of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I to Jamaica, the Jamaican-Ethiopian connection remains alive, powerful, and deeply personal.

In this episode, we sit with a Jamaican living in Ethiopia and an Ethiopian voice reflecting on the cultural, spiritual, and historical bridge between both nations. From Rastafari identity to modern Ethiopia, from heritage to lived experience, this is a conversation about a mission, legacy, and what it truly means to reconnect across oceans.



JamaicaAndEthiopia Rastafari PanAfricanism CulturalLegacy Ethiopia Jamaica HisMajesty

🎙️ From practice…to performance.

What does it really take to move from learning notes to delivering a compelling classical performance?
In this new episode of Inside the Vocal Salon, I sit down with soprano and voice teacher Lori Burnett to break down how singers can approach classical repertoire with clarity, confidence, and ease.
We get into:
✨ Making classical music feel accessible (not intimidating!)
✨ Connecting technique to expression
✨ Helping students build consistency and confidence
✨ Practical tools you can use immediately
Whether you’re a voice teacher, vocal coach, or singer—this one is for you.

🎧 Premieres Monday, April 6
🎁 Plus—grab Lori’s FREE guide to support your repertoire journey
👉 Watch on YouTube 
👉 Listen on Apple Podcasts & everywhere you stream
💬 Tag a singer or voice teacher who needs this!
👍🏾 Like, share, and let us know your biggest challenge with classical repertoire

ClassicalSinging OperaTraining MusicEducation SingersOfInstagram VocalPedagogy PracticeToPerformance SingingLife ReggaeOnline VoiceTraining

📚🔥 FINAL “Brown Girl” SESSION ALERT!
We’ve reached the end of the journey for this book… and what a ride it’s been.

Join us LIVE this Sunday, April 12 at 6PM JA / 7PM EDT for Session 4 of Rockaz Book Club as we wrap up Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson — covering Chapters 12–14.

This is where it all comes together. Expect powerful insights, deep reasoning, and that signature Rockaz vibe 💥
📖 Read up
🗣️ Pull up
💬 Share your thoughts live
Watch on YouTube
Don’t miss the final reasoning!

CaribbeanVoices BookClubLive ReadWithUs FinalSession

The journey continues…
The next live session of Rockaz Book Club is coming up this Sunday, March 28th at 6PM JA / 7PM EDT — and trust us… the story is getting INTENSE! 🔥

We’ll be diving into Chapters 8–11 of Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson, where things really start to heat up and the stakes get even higher 👀

If you’ve been reading along, you already know… and if you haven’t joined yet, this is your moment to jump in!

🗓️ Set your reminder
📖 Catch up on your reading
💬 Come ready to reason, reflect, and share .. start a thread or convo in our Book Club community space.

Watch live on YouTube
Don’t miss it — the vibes, the insights, the community… it’s all happening 💥

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