Like any town, Cambridge has always had a solid core of reggae enthusiasts. At the end of the 70s and the early 80s, local band Hondo would always attract a good crowd. In the 80s and 90s local sound systems would play where and when they could. For a few years a summer community radio broadcast brought a much needed injection of roots, dub, ska and dancehall to the airwaves and listener surveys showed that reggae was the most popular of all styles of music put out by the station.
By the time the new millennium came around it had been clear for a long time that Cambridge had the potential for reggae to become a regular musical fixture. The obstacles to this were also clear lack of suitable available venues and lack of any organised co-ordination. With all this in mind, a group of local reggae enthusiasts were invited to a meeting in August 2000 with the aims of establishing a community based collective organisation which could promote reggae and help people develop skills, and become a significant community and cultural resource.
Thus Revelation 2000 was born. Since that time the organisation has seen members come and go, has been responsible for the Reggae Tent at four Strawberry Fairs, put on numerous events at venues such as Café Afrika, the Man on the Moon and Legends, provided music for occasions from May Balls for private parties and brought other sound systems to the city as well as putting on an event in Northampton featuring Sugar Minott and other well-known artists. We have also helped individuals to develop skills they might never have realised they had resulting in the formation of a band and also in people branching out to establish their own creative projects.
