IRAWMA awards returns to South Florida next year
Published:Friday | October 27, 2023 | 12:07 AM
Martin’s International, the producer of four popular special events, recently revealed its calendar for 2024 awards and festivals.
For the last four consecutive years, Kingston, Jamaica has been the host city for the annual International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA). Now, fresh from successfully celebrating its 40th annniversary of the IRAWMA in the island, Dr Ephraim Martin, the producer and president of Martin’s International, announced that the 41st IRAWMA will make a grand return to South Florida.
On Friday, March 22, 2024, Lauderhill Performing Arts Center in Fort Lauderdale will be the IRAWMA’s venue.
Awards will be given in 37 nominated categories, in addition to Special Awards of Honour to those who have been making extraordinary contributions to the music and other industries. Four new nominated categories were added for 2024, and they are Best Singjay Artiste, Dancehall Performer of the Year, Best African Entertainer and Best Social Media Influencer.
The second IRAWMA Best Song Contest is officially open to all entertainers to submit their songs to martinsinternational1982@gmail.com.
The song/video must be two minutes and submitted in the form of MP4 format and say something about what IRAWMA has been doing for the industry over the last 41 years. The winner at the 40th IRAWMA was History Man.
This will be the eighth time that South Florida will host this reggae and world music biggest event, the only one of its kind that, for more than 40 years, has been honouring reggae, Caribbean, African and other world music industries members. The 35th IRAWMA, which was held in South Florida in 2016, was a history-making and record-setting celebration for its founder, Dr Martin.
The world-famous Apollo Theatre and other venues in New York hosted IRAWMA from 2003 through 2010, before IRAWMA celebrated its 30th anniversary in Trinidad and Tobago.
Another Martin’s International event, the African/Caribbean International Festival of Life (IFOL), which is celebrating its 31st anniversary, is set for July 4-7, 2024, in Washington Park, Chicago, Illinois. The IFOL will be combined with the 42nd annual Chicago Music Awards on July 5, 2024, for the third time in 30 years.