• placement: superzone
  • path: articles/hero
  • containerId: gpt-ad-71764076614
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [320, 50], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "jamaica-spotify-playlist",
      "destination": "Jamaica",
      "title": "jamaica",
      "country": "Jamaica",
      "continent": "Caribbean",
      "refresh": 30,
      "refresh_limit": 3
    }

This all-star playlist will get you in an island state of mind

Mar 23, 2020

1 MIN READ

Falmouth, Jamaica - July 07 2019: Martha Brae River, Jamaica. Tourists on bamboo raft rides. Relaxing scenic tour in countryside landscape under canopy trees. People enjoy summer vacation activity.  License Type: media  Download Time: 2023-08-21T21:29:38.000Z  User: claramonitto  Is Editorial: Yes  purchase_order:
Maya Stanton

Writer

Brooklyn, NY

I’m a sucker for a last-minute airfare deal and ready to hit the road at all times. (And even though I’m a chronic overpacker, I prefer to travel light, so it’s all gotta fit in the overhead bin.) On the ground, I love exploring connections between food, culture, and community, then getting outside for a hike, swim, or walk in the park. I grew up in Virginia, went to school in Ohio, made a brief pitstop in Bucharest, and have been based in Brooklyn ever since. Memorable trips include Greece…

  • placement: inContentSidebar
  • path: articles/in-content-top
  • containerId: gpt-ad-18719986200
  • possible size: [728, 90], [300, 250], [320, 50], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "jamaica-spotify-playlist",
      "destination": "Jamaica",
      "title": "jamaica",
      "country": "Jamaica",
      "continent": "Caribbean",
      "refresh": 30,
      "refresh_limit": 3
    }

It’s tough to picture a future without travel on the horizon, but as the pandemic spreads and a growing number of countries implement lockdown proceedings, that vision is quickly becoming reality. There’s little more transporting than music, though – and the Jamaica Tourist Board has dropped a playlist to cure those self-isolation blues.

Appropriately dubbed ‘Every Little Thing is Gonna Be Alright’, the 252-song Spotify set kicks off with Desmond Dekker and runs through the island’s best-known artists, from Jimmy Cliff, Buju Banton, and Lee Scratch Perry to King Tubby, Barrington Levy, and yes, Bob Marley.

  • placement: inContentSidebar
  • path: articles/in-content-middle
  • containerId: gpt-ad-111191993060
  • possible size: [728, 90], [300, 250], [320, 50], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "jamaica-spotify-playlist",
      "destination": "Jamaica",
      "title": "jamaica",
      "country": "Jamaica",
      "continent": "Caribbean",
      "refresh": 30,
      "refresh_limit": 3
    }

The playlist “aims to bring a little bit of sunshine to brighten up these darker days,” the tourism board says. “Irie vibes are right this way.”

Per capita, Jamaica creates more recorded music than anywhere else in the world, and it has an outsized influence on the global music scene, with genres like reggae, dancehall, ska, and soca hitting big on a massive scale. Kingston’s street parties are justifiably legendary, and people come from all over to catch the live shows during Reggae Month, timed to coincide with Mr Marley’s birthday in February.

For the millions currently quarantined at home, jumping on a plane for a music tour is obviously out of the question. But in the meantime, there are living-room dance parties – a great way to get that blood flowing – either solo or coordinated with friends and family via the social-networking tool of your choice.

  • placement: native
  • path: articles/in-content-native
  • containerId: gpt-ad-946282495981
  • possible size: [f, l],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "jamaica-spotify-playlist",
      "destination": "Jamaica",
      "title": "jamaica",
      "country": "Jamaica",
      "continent": "Caribbean",
      "refresh": 30,
      "refresh_limit": 3
    }

“Music is creation,” roots reggae superstar Burning Spear told the Los Angeles Times back in 1990. “The lyric, the music itself, arrangement, that vibe, such melody – everything within the music moves the people.”

The coronavirus (COVID-19) is now a global pandemic. Find out what this means for travellers.

  • placement: fullWidth
  • path: articles/bottom
  • containerId: gpt-ad-495207383127
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [300, 250], [320, 50], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "jamaica-spotify-playlist",
      "destination": "Jamaica",
      "title": "jamaica",
      "country": "Jamaica",
      "continent": "Caribbean",
      "refresh": 30,
      "refresh_limit": 3
    }

Explore related stories