BeREGGAE festival returns to Piedmont Park this weekend

Get ready for all the Caribbean vibes!

The 9th annual BeREGGAE Diaspora Music & Arts Festival is happening all weekend long at Piedmont Park, starting tonight. This year’s festival headliners are Jamaican dancehall artist Wayne Wonder, Atlanta icon, CeeLo Green and Latin sensation Tito Puente Jr, along with several other artists that’ll be performing. In case you aren’t familiar, the BeREGGAE Festival was created in 2013 “as a block-party style gathering to celebrate authentic afro Caribbean culture. As we grew, we began to focus on the intersectionality between the Caribbean, African and Black American cultures and create a space where we all feel represented.” Since the festival’s inception, it has evolved into “a unique, premium music and arts festival that centers the mental, spiritual, physical and emotional wellness of Black families.”

This is a family-friendly event and proceeds from the festival are for a great cause. The annual three-day fundraiser benefits the “Hand Over Fist Foundation,” which supports programs centered around education and economic empowerment of Black families.

How about those headliners though?! I remember the first time I heard Wayne Wonder’s 2003 hit, “No Letting Go” – I couldn’t help but dance! The song peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. Wonder has released nine albums over his more than 30-year career and continues to perform several of his hits at different concerts and festivals.

Following in the footsteps of his father and legend, Tito Puente, Puente Jr has made a name for himself in the music world. In 2004 Puente Jr released his album, “In My Father’s Shoes” which featured classic Puente songs and was even spun into a BET Jazz television special.