St. James Chapter of LMAJ Stages Marching Band Festival

The St. James Chapter of the Lay Magistrates Association of Jamaica (LMAJ) says its annual Marching Band Festival has been positively impacting at-risk youth in vulnerable communities in the parish.

The third staging of the family event will be held at the Catherine Hall Sports Complex on Labour Day (May 23), where more than 10 marching bands are to engage in a festive display of music and celebration.

Public Relations Officer and Coordinator for the 2023 staging of the Marching Band Festival, Claudette Bryan, said bands play an important role in unifying young people in communities such as Norwood, Rose Heights, and Green Pond in a meaningful way.

She was addressing a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’ held at the agency’s Montego Bay Regional Office in St. James on Tuesday, May 9.

The event began in 2018 with a marching band competition and was followed by another in 2019. However, the group had to postpone any further production due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Mrs. Bryan noted that rehearsing for the annual Marching Band event helps to instil discipline in young band members and gives them a sense of purpose.

“The tremendous impact it has had on the communities is mind-boggling. For example, in our last competition, Heights Marching Band had 60 band members. We are talking about young people from Rose Heights, Green Pond and Norwood; all of these communities come together to rehearse for two three hours in the evenings; that can only build relationships,” she said.

“So, what happens is, when a young man has an issue with another one, that issue is settled before they can even begin to rehearse,” she added.

Mrs. Bryan also said that hosting of the festivity has not only left a lasting positive impression on young musicians, but the thousands of people that attended since its first staging.

“It has had a tremendous effect because you still hear people talk about 2019, you still hear people saying I have to be there. I was there in 2018; I was there in 2019, so this cannot miss me in 2023,” she said.

The bands participating in this year’s staging will each be given $100,000 for their performance in a bid to revitalise and reignite the musical groups in their respective communities.