Trouble At Montreal International Reggae festival

Cezar Brumeanu, the producer and guiding force of the Montreal International Reggae Festival since its inception in 2004, has quit the organization. In a tersely worded statement from Brumeanu’s CB Productions, he notes that he had resigned from the festival several months ago and was only making the news public now.

The 2008 edition of the MIRF was plagued by a spotty lineup and poor weather. Brumeanu also revealed that Artistic Coordinator Ricardo Forbes had been let go prior to this edition. Brumeanu cited a range of issues with the festival, including breaches of contract and unprofessional conduct by the festival’s administration towards staff, artists and patrons.

MIRF president Eric Blagrove has not commented on the personnel changes and the organization’s home page has vanished, leaving only a parked domain name. There have been no announcements yet regarding the festival’s plans for 2009.

The festival has established itself as one of the best reggae festivals in eastern North America over the past five years, bringing in such heavyweights as Black Uhuru, Barrington Levy, I Wayne and others to one of reggae’s biggest emerging markets.


The Reggae News Agency

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