Rum & Reggae Festival Returns For 2019, Bigger & Better Than Ever

19 dates have been announced so far up and down the UK!

The Rum & Reggae Festival is set to light up the UK with its 19-date UK tour. From 2nd February to 10th August it will return to Winchester, Portsmouth, Bristol, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Cardiff, Newcastle, London, Reading, Nottingham, and Manchester, and will debut in Ipswich, Colchester, Kettering, Isle of Wight, Jersey and Maidstone, featuring a wide selection of rum and the smoothest selection of reggae music. Guests will be taken on a rum journey around the world, hosted by the Reggae Sound System, as they taste rare and special craft rums from the West Indies, South America, Australia, the Philippines, Mauritius and other surprise locations. With carnival dancers, cocktail demonstrations and Caribbean food, the Rum & Reggae Festival is set to be a colourful and tantalising affair. Tickets are now on sale from £14.50 plus booking are available from www.rumandreggaefestival.com.

On entry at the Rum & Reggae Festival, guests will be handed a Rum Atlas – a pocket-sized guide detailing the fine selection of hand-picked and exciting rums available from all corners of the globe. From exotic fruits and dark aromatics to well-rounded aged rums and young blends, guests will be spoilt for choice. They include the award-winning La Hechicera that’s aged up to 21 years; the best-selling high proof rum in the world Wray & Nephew (90% of rum sales in Jamaica are of Wray and Nephew); the first release from Scotland’s Dark Matter Distillers, Dark Matter Spiced Rum; and Pineapple Rum - never intended for resale and a tribute to the esteemed Reverend Stiggins whose favourite drink was the “pineapple rum” in the Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens.

Both sipping and mixing rum-lovers are catered for at this event. Available to purchase will be 25ml test tubes (perfect to share) or full bottles of favourite tipples plus festival goers can order their favourite Rum of the Day and have it posted after the event has finished.

The Rum & Reggae Festival also features a rum cocktail bar and there will be cocktail demonstrations as the experts share their secrets. For those who want to enjoy the reggae without the rum, a new bar offering Jamaica’s very own Red Stripe beer and a range of other spirits has been introduced for the 2019 tour.

Infectious entertainment is the epicentre of every Rum & Reggae Festival and the new-look event has some huge talent lined up, as well as another headliner and tour DJ to be confirmed shortly.

Featuring in Ipswich, Colchester and Bristol are the acclaimed live act, Laid Blak, who’ll bring their distinctive good-times vibe via a melting pot of urban reggae, funk and jazz. The collective bounced up playlists on BBC 1Xtra, Kiss FM and Choice FM with their first 12” record ‘Scream and Shout’. A coveted Rototom Award for Best Northern European Reggae Band followed, and they have played alongside big guns such as The Wailers, Toots and The Maytals, John Legend and Ed Sheeran. Interestingly, Laid Blak were signed to Brown Punk Records, a label set up by Island Records founder, Chris Blackwell, who has his own rum ‘Blackwell Black Gold Rum’ available at the festival!

Also featuring across all tour dates is the Global Reggae Band, the crowd-pleasing 7-member band from Birmingham who wowed Rum & Reggae guests on last year’s tour with their sunshine-soaked reggae vibes.

Alongside the music, the 2019 tour features even more performers, with choreographed dancers showing off their Caribbean carnival moves in spectacular outfits.

And when it’s time for refuelling, guests can get their jerk chicken, curried goat, and rice and pea fix from the traditional Caribbean food stalls, with tasty treats cooked up by the Pirates From The Caribbean Kitchen chefs.

Further dates will be announced for 2019 but the current tour will visit: 16 Feb Ipswich Corn Exchange, 23 Feb Winchester - Guildhall, 8th & 9th Mar Portsmouth - Pyramids, 16 Mar Colchester - Charter Hall, 30 Mar Kettering - Wicksteed Park, 13 Apr Bristol - Passenger Shed, 20 Apr Edinburgh – Assembly Rooms, 18 May Birmingham - The Mill, 25 May Isle Of Wight – Cowes Yacht Haven, 1 Jun Cardiff – Depot, 8 Jun Maidstone – Kent Event Centre, 22 Jun Newcastle – Civic Centre, 29 Jun London - The Grand, 6 Jul Reading Town Hall, 13 Jul Nottingham – The Atrium, 27 Jul Jersey – Royal Jersey Agricultural & Horticultural Society, and 10 Aug Manchester – Bowlers.

Revellers can purchase a night session ticket, with prices starting from £14.50 plus booking fee from www.rumandreggaefestival.com.    

The Rum & Reggae Festival is the ultimate place to sample rums from around the world with a festival party atmosphere guaranteed to get the heart pumping and the feet moving.