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December 23, 1997.

First Annual WUSB 90.1 FM FOUR DAY MARATHON REGGAE WEEKEND

First Ever - Four Day Marathon Reggae Weekend started on December 29, 1995 and ran through January 1, 1996!

"What started out as a joke that Kibret made, turned into a world record-breaking event, unprecedented in radio and reggae music, " says Lister Hewan-Lowe of WUSB 90.1 FM. "And never before have so many reggae radio personalities joined forces so selflessly to show the world that a full-time, twenty-four hour reggae radio station can, and should, be a reality in America!"

Over 40 guest hosts and reggae artistes passed through the doors of WUSB's studios between Friday December 29th, 1995 and Monday January 1st, 1996. According to Lister, " We are putting the word out over the internet, because we believe this is the first time in the world that a radio station has played 24 hours of reggae music non-stop for four days!"

WUSB 90.1 FM in Stony Brook, NY, has indeed been a cornerstone in the U.S. for the introduction and advancement of reggae and dancehall music. Lister has been doing his radio show on this station since 1970, and holds the record for the longest-running reggae radio program on a single station in America. Kibret Neguse, who hosts two reggae shows on WUSB, has been on the air for 12 years. "We do this all for the love of the music and culture," he says.

Their love of reggae music is exactly what motivated Kibret and Lister to ask WUSB program director Michael DiLaurenzio to allow them this opportunity to thank all of the listeners for their support of the station's signal upgrade project, which took five years of fundraising and now gives WUSB over 90% increased listener coverage. During the course of the marathon reggae weekend, the station received calls from listeners in Queens and Brooklyn, Putnam County, Shelton (Connecticut), and as far east as Sag Harbor, Long Island.

Kibret says the phones rang virtually non-stop with listeners offering praises for this " dream come true." In planning the event, he says, "It was actually very easy to put together. The press release went out, and the calls came right in. Everyone's schedule fit right into place. It felt like the station was on auto-pilot because everyone was very professional and motivated to be a part of history!" Local businesses such as Yvonne's Caribbean Delite Bakery in Coram (who generously provided all of the food for the event) and Flavors Ice Cream and Bake Shop in Queens (listeners were afforded gift certificates) also got involved, as well as several record companies who provided giveaways. Boona Music in California even made up a commemorative T-shirt honoring the event, with proceeds benefiting WUSB and the Bustamante Children's Hospital in Jamaica. These T-shirts are still available by calling toll free 1-800-282-6662.

Kibret and Lister feel they can make this a regular event on WUSB, and are looking forward to holding another in Dec. 1996.

Second Annual Four Day Marathon Reggae Weekend

'97 Seven Day Reggae Marathon

© Clappers 1996