9 Mile Music Festival: Here’s what went down at the 25th anniversary of the legendary fest

9 Mile Music Festival went down on Saturday, March 9th, 2019, not only celebrating the rich tradition and history of reggae, dancehall, and inclusiveness, but also the 25th anniversary of the legendary festival that Cedella Booker Marley founded in 1993. The reggaecentric event once again took place at the idyllic Historic Virginia Key Beach Park, Miami, Fl.

The gates opened at 1 pm, with 15,000 attendees walking through the barricades throughout the day, a distant pulse of music guiding them like a beacon down a sandy lane which at the end, revealed a Nirvana of music, food, and vendors. Kids ran barefoot, and friends laughed, sat in their cyclical festival configurations enjoying the family-friendly event. Boasting of an array of traditional Jamaican foods and a variety of experiences including the 9 Mile Moksha Roots Experience, the Drum Circle featuring Miami Bloco, Kayaking, live artists and body painters, it wasn’t hard to fill the day-into-night event.

Incredible DJ’s played into the early hours including Jah Stream, War Beezy, Mello D, Ricky D, and Yard Lee, who kept the beach party going strong. Papa Keith, of 103.5 The Beat joined as a host alongside I Am Pretty Vee (comedian and Instagram sensation) and Lance-O (Kulcha Shok).

Of course, the legendary line-up is what truly made the event one to remember. Julian Marley, Everton Blender, Shabba Ranks, Sizzla, Busy Signal, Capleton, Spice, Mighty Crown, came, saw and conquered the stage. The grand finale took everyone by surprise, and onto their feet as headliner NAS performed, who closed the festival in spectacular form with a special performance with Damian Marley and P. Diddy!

As with every year, a donation of 4 canned goods was required as part of the admission to the fest. This tradition has been in place since the inception of the festival and is an important part of its community-oriented mission. It was just announced that a total of 100,000 cans were donated to Curley’s House Food Bank. I for one am looking forward to 2020’s edition.

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