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Billy White, a fourth-year ethnomusicology student, and Tara Peters, a fourth-year world arts and

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Machel Montano performs during the reggae portion of the 18th Annual UCLA JazzReggae Festival, mo

Music fans gathered on the Intramural Field this weekend to partake in the 18th Annual UCLA JazzReggae Festival.

The event, put together by a sub-committee of the Cultural Affairs Commission, featured jazz artists on Sunday and reggae artists on Monday.

The first festival in 1987, featured only jazz music. It evolved into the JazzReggae Festival when reggae music was added about five years into its existence.

“It started off really small to make people unite,” said Lester Baron, a fifth-year psychobiology student and director of this year’s JazzReggae Festival.

Now the festival has thousands of attendees each year, with about 30,000 expected to have come over the weekend.

Each year the preparations for the next year’s festival begin during the summer. A staff of about 30 student volunteers works through the year to ensure that all the details of the event are taken care of.

Choosing which artists will be featured is near the top of the volunteers’ to-do lists. The headliners for this year’s festival were Poncho Sanchez on Sunday and Beenie Man on Monday.

Poncho Sanchez is known for distinctive Latin jazz blended with R&B sounds. Beenie Man is one of the stars of Jamaican reggae, which is mixed with hip-hop and Latin flavors.

“The artists are selected in the order of popularity, providing a good blend that would satisfy the audience,” Baron said.

On Jazz day, Latin jazz, hip hop, Caribbean and smooth jazz were performed.

Apart from selecting the artists, staff members for the UCLA JazzReggae Festival decide where to solicit funds for the event.

The festival is well-funded by the Undergraduate Students Association Council and other sources on campus, such as the Cultural Affairs Commission, the Student Life Fund and the Community Programs Committee, Baron said.

Outside funding sources include Naked Juice, STA Travel and radio stations Power FM and The Beat.

Besides jazz and reggae music, the festival featured Jamaican food, such as jerk chicken, as well as clothes and jewelry vendors.

Some who came to the festival thought attendance was sparse on Jazz day.

“I thought I was going to see more people,” said fourth-year economics student Sulema Campos.

On Reggae day, more than half the Intramural field was covered with blankets and chairs, and more attendees were walking around. In the afternoon, there was still a line to purchase tickets.

During an energetic performance by Machel Montano, attendees cheered and danced along with the dancers on stage.

Most of the attendees on both days were not UCLA students.

The atmosphere was friendly, with children playing and dancing next to their parents.

“The music was fun; it makes you want to get up and dance. The festival is all about community. It brings everybody together, something peaceful in a time like this,” Campos said.

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