Island Music Conference 2026

I opened my inbox last week, and there it was. A single invitation that stopped my breath for a second. It was a summons to come home, to come back to Jamaica.

You know as well as I do that Jamaica has been through the fire. We have seen the headlines, felt the weight of tragedy, and watched as systems tried to categorize their resilience as mere survival. When I saw the details for the Island Music Conference (IMC) 2026, I saw a strategic masterpiece in the making.

I saw an island leaping forward.

You need to understand why this matters to you, and it has nothing to do with booking a flight and everything to do with the reclaiming of agency. For too long, the narratives about Jamaica have been dictated by those outside their borders. They see Jamaica’s vulnerability, but they miss the island’s structural power. This conference, chaired by Orville “Shaggy” Burrell, along with co-founders Judith Bodley and Sharon Burke, is the shift we have been waiting for.

The theme for this fourth staging (the Topaz edition) is ‘Music Is the Unifying Force’. In a world that thrives on our division, choosing to unify is revolutionary. This is a declaration that sound can bring us together across borders and cultures, bridging the gap between local voices and global audiences.

We aren’t just talking about catchy tunes, even though let’s be real, some of the catchiest tunes come from Jamaica, we are talking about ‘From Stage to State.’ When you see the keynote speaker Shyne (Moses Michael Levi Barrow), you are looking at a living blueprint of power. From a Brooklyn discovery to a platinum-selling Bad Boy artist, to a Belizean politician, that is the definition of shifting the narrative. I was able to listen to his story on February 26th at the Courtleigh Auditorium. I will be sharing more about this later, but what it did was show attendees exactly how to navigate the intersection of creativity and institutional influence.

This is the utility we have been looking for.

I didn’t just look at the 15+ music panels and workshops as a list of things to do; I viewed them as a council of advisors. We are talking about over 30 global radio DJs, names like DJ Enuff, SeaniB, DJ Norie, and Mastermind, waiting in listening sessions. This was an opportunity to move from the sidelines to the center of the global conversation.

Whether you sing, DJ, write, manage, or produce, the IMC was designed to protect our community interests by ensuring our art remains a service, not a spectacle. It included a songwriter’s camp, film screenings, and performances from both new and global artistes, all happening in the heart of the Creative City during Reggae Month.

Jamaica’s resilience is rooted in its rich musical heritage, and IMC 2026 is where that heritage met innovation. I felt like I was invited into a space of healing and opportunity. It was about exposure, dignity, and collective progress. It was about showing the world that even after the storm, the rhythm remains.