Eton Pearcy of Jam Rock Events shares his passion for reggae and the importance of combining quality music with strong business practices to build a sustainable reggae scene in Colorado. He discusses challenges working with Jamaican artists and the need for professional systems. Pearcy highlights the upcoming Sizzla concert on September 20th at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom in Denver as a key event supporting community causes. He emphasizes collaboration among artists, promoters, and venues to keep reggae thriving locally.
DJ Soul Rock:
Thank you so much, everyone, for tuning into KGNU Reggae Bloodlines, going 47 years strong. We have a very special guest today, Eton Pearcy from Jam Rock Events. Something I really loved when I was doing some research—he’s a curator of uplifting and culturally immersive experiences. Looking at the list of artists you’ve worked with—Tony Matterhorn, I Wayne, Wonder General, Benz, Round Head, Skillibeng—the list goes on, and that’s by no means complete. Thank you so much for joining us today! Where are you calling in from?
Eton Pearcy:
I really appreciate you having me, and I know you made me sound like a superstar—just know that’s the full credential rundown! But currently, I’m calling in from Colorado Springs, the beautiful mountain town in southern Colorado. Loving it and trying to get used to it.
DJ Soul Rock:
Yes, the whole Front Range is so beautiful. KGNU Reggae Bloodlines has a presence all along the Front Range, on the radio and worldwide on the KGNU app. I want to thank you for being here. We’re here to talk about a special show in Denver you’re putting on. We have Sizzla coming on September 20th at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom. We’ll talk more about that, but first I’d love to hear—what brought you into promoting reggae music? It truly feels like a calling, and you’re a superstar to all of us who dearly love reggae and dancehall. What was the catalyst for getting Jam Rock Events going?
Eton Pearcy:
It’s actually a very unusual story. I originally came to Colorado because of the military—I was stationed at Fort Carson. Before the military, Colorado wasn’t really a place many Jamaicans had on their radars. It’s usually the East Coast—New York, Florida, places like that. I actually lived in New York when I first came to America. So you can imagine joining the military and being moved to Colorado.
What really started this whole journey was that I was in a car accident on my way home from work at Fort Carson. It was serious enough that I had a pinched nerve, and they decided medical separation was the best option for me. That broke my heart because at the time, I was trying to get into flight school. I saw the military as a potential 20-year career, and that got taken away just from doing what I normally do—going home.
So, when I realized the military wouldn’t be a thing for me anymore, I started looking around to see what I could do locally that others weren’t doing—or if someone was doing it, how I could put a new twist on it. That’s when Jam Rock Events came to mind. That’s when we started planning to stay here after separating from the military.
DJ Soul Rock:
That’s amazing. Thank you so much for your service to this country. It reminds me how sometimes tragic things happen, but I really admire your ability to push through and see, “Maybe this is the start of something new”—something that we all now get to share through Jam Rock Events.
Eton Pearcy:
I genuinely appreciate having this conversation. If you check the records on the IG page, we didn’t connect only because of this event. I’ve been following you guys for a long time but never felt comfortable reaching out because I didn’t feel I had something mutually beneficial to offer. That’s how I operate in business—if it’s only for me, I’m not interested in making a contact. But once there’s a possibility of mutual benefit, I’ll be the annoying little brother!
DJ Soul Rock:
Oh, that’s wonderful. Thank you so much. I’m so glad you did. I was looking at your page and you have some amazing community initiatives as well. It’s not just about putting on a reggae show; it’s about immersing people in the experience. I wanted to ask you about that—like the partial incentive breakfast program you do, which really caught my eye. Could you talk about that?
Eton Pearcy:
Yeah. I never forget where I’m from, and I stay very connected back home. My alma mater, Winward Road Primary School in Jamaica, still has kids who come to school unprepared for the day. Sometimes that’s because parents can’t provide the necessary resources—not due to inadequacy, but due to socio-economic and cultural systems in some parts of the island. Like anywhere, some people struggle, and I was one of those kids growing up.
So I felt it was only right to help bridge the gap for those who don’t get the opportunities others do—helping those kids so they can reintroduce themselves to their community later and pay it forward. With every event we do here in Colorado, we send resources back to the school to help maintain and uplift any areas they lack in.
I’m especially focused on the breakfast program because it’s very difficult to focus in school without proper nutrition. I can’t function without food, and you can imagine a child going to school five days a week without enough to eat. It pains me to think about it.
The breakfast program incentivizes kids to want to come to school because there’s also bullying when kids don’t have money to buy lunch. They don’t feel comfortable going to the cafeteria or even staying in class. It becomes a huge distraction—not just for the kids who can’t afford lunch, but also for those who can, and for the families who can provide. Everyone is at a disadvantage.
Parents who can’t provide feel stress, and those who can, see their kids distracted. The focus should be on learning, but instead, it’s spread across all these extra challenges that kids shouldn’t have to deal with.
DJ Soul Rock:
That’s so true. As a growing boy, food is the number one motivator. If you can get someone in the building with some delicious food, you can nurture their minds. You are such an inspiration for those kids—showing them what’s possible in life. It really resonates with the message of reggae music. Thank you for doing that. Supporting a Jam Rock event show is way more than just the music; it’s reaching out across the world.
I was also looking at your website and saw you have events in Jamaica, Colorado, and LA. You’re really expanding across the US. Can you talk a bit about that?
Eton Pearcy:
Yeah. This industry—man, we’re all connected. You’d be surprised who’s watching. I’ve been fortunate to build great relationships in LA, especially with my friend Sire, who’s a real industry guru. We’re super cool, and he likes to work behind the scenes. He’s a facilitator who has connected me with some amazing people in LA.
They’ve been looking into what I’m doing here in Colorado and in Jamaica. We’ve done small projects that aren’t always publicized, but as long as the right people benefit, that’s how we operate.
There’s a big project coming up in LA with Skillibeng on August 2nd. It’s timed to celebrate Jamaica Independence Day, which is August 6th. Many places celebrate with festivals, and we’re doing one in LA through Sean Neely and his booking company.
DJ Soul Rock:
That’s so exciting—celebrating Independence Day with an amazing music festival. As someone who loves live music, you don’t realize how many amazing people work behind the scenes. I’m glad you’re shining a light on yourself and those folks.
That brings us to September 20th, with Sizzla here at Cervantes. I know there’s the show, but also an afterparty and other events. What can we expect?
Eton Pearcy:
Sizzla is so excited to be part of this project. I told him about the work we’re doing at the primary school and invited him for a charity event to bring the community together and spread positivity.
He said, “You don’t even live in Jamaica. Why don’t you do the show somewhere else so we can raise more money for the school?” I never thought I could get Sizzla booked in Colorado, so I said, “So you’d come to Colorado if we do the show for the school?”
He said yes, so we worked out 17 different dates, and finally landed on September 20th. From then on, it was smooth sailing.
This event will donate part of its proceeds to the breakfast program at Winward Road Primary. Of course, there are expenses with these events, so it’s not 100% proceeds, but it will be significantly more than what could be raised on the island for the same community.
People will get to see Sizzla here. He performed at Cervantes almost nine years ago, in the middle of the week, and it was a great time. Now, on a Saturday in Colorado, it should be even better.
DJ Soul Rock:
I’m super excited! It’s going to be such a special event—a powerful celebration of community and support. September 20th, Cervantes, Sizzla, Jam Rock Events—it’s going to be a blast.
Eton Pearcy:
I also want to give a special shout-out to the staff at Cervantes. They’ve been stellar. I have a degree in social work, but this promoter role is something I’m learning every day. I’m a people person and good at connecting with others, and I feel I’ve been effective in changing the narrative around what we’re trying to do.
I wanted that space for so long, and after listening to a lot of noise, I went straight to the source. I’m so happy I met Brent, Adam, and Mikayla—they’ve all been amazing. I’m really excited to finally be able to attend an event as an audience member instead of running around handling everything!
DJ Soul Rock: Hey man, I’m so glad to hear that because being in your position, you’re running around, making sure everyone’s taken care of, but when do you get to enjoy the show and enjoy the music? I can hear your passion for it—you didn’t get into this just to make money. It’s more about the experience, supporting yourself, supporting the artist, the larger community. It makes so much sense now that you have a social work background because social work’s all about systems and helping people through systems. And you do it with such joy and ease. Like, we’re talking on WhatsApp, but I can see your face, and I can just see your joy in talking about this. I really appreciate it.
Eton Pearcy: Yeah, thank you. I appreciate that. And definitely, I want to use this opportunity for folks who are interested in partnering with Jam Rock Events in any way—we do welcome those things. It takes a village to raise this as well.
We have some very good connections with talent in Jamaica. We understand that there’s a narrative that talent can be difficult to deal with. I’ve experienced some of that myself. However, they’re really interested in conversations that make them feel in control of their product.
Oftentimes, talent might feel like they’re part of a small-time, million-dollar project that they don’t fully understand. Maybe the strategic way to deal with talent is to give them a show, set up the infrastructure so they understand all the expenses around doing the show.
Some are aware of this—when they get a booking to say, “Hey, come to Colorado,” the pivot is that the fact that you’re calling me means I must be needed, but that’s not always true. I’ve seen this in the past because I love them so much, I wasn’t looking at it from a business standpoint, just passion. But passion doesn’t pay bills. You learn fast—you’re losing money and have to focus on the business side.
For me, this shouldn’t be how it’s done. Everything is a system, and you should be able to call someone who knows market value. What someone’s worth in New York isn’t what they’re worth in Colorado. Some individuals don’t have educated people around them—not in intelligence, but in the industry.
That’s where I don’t want this interview to dive into music politics, but from my experiences, talent genuinely wants to do their best and reach their audience, but they lack communication skills and good business people around them.
I’m connected with many folks who have a well-oiled machine. Sometimes I’m like, “Wow, I didn’t know it could be this fluid.” I’ve been backstage at Red Rocks, and everyone knows their role. No one is doing 50 tasks—everything’s delegated properly. A well-oiled system brings more bookings because people like dealing with it.
That’s one of the things we as Jamaicans struggle with: one person doing 50 things—audio engineer doubling as booking manager, manager also cooking, and so on. It gets messy without a solid team.
But when you look at the top Jamaican acts, the best quality comes from a well-oiled machine—everyone plays their part. When those things aren’t in place, that’s when problems happen.
From an educated standpoint, if you get a call saying, “Hey, I need this talent,” the person in charge knows the local scene. If the talent doesn’t have a strong fanbase there, they negotiate a deal with flights and hotels and do a civilized business, which can bring repeat bookings and new markets.
That mindset isn’t common yet in Jamaica. Sometimes the booking is in New York or Florida, and Colorado isn’t even on their radar. But when you find someone like Sizzla, who is passionate about charity and giving back to his community, it’s easier to connect on the same level.
That’s how we got this show going. But there’s still a lot of work to be done with Jamaican talent. We haven’t seen many coming through Colorado—not because promoters don’t want them, but because talent needs to realize the music economy has changed. People are more cautious with money.
DJ Soul Rock: I hear you talking about the need for sustainability, building trust, and growing over time. It’s amazing Sizzla is coming back after eight or nine years. When there’s trust and a well-oiled machine, the art can grow.
Eton Pearcy: Exactly. When he said he wanted to come back, it wasn’t by accident. The event is at Cervantes because I’m strategic. He already played there before, and they know what they’re doing. I didn’t know anyone at Cervantes personally, but I looked at their roster and saw they had brought him before. That confirmed it was the right venue.
I want good data so it doesn’t look like someone inexperienced did the show. I’m also building my personal relationship with Cervantes because if I bring talent in and the venue takes over, more traditional reggae acts will come through.
DJ Soul Rock: Yes.
Eton Pearcy: That’s where the disconnect is. These well-oiled venues are efficient and don’t deal with nonsense. I wouldn’t want to book anyone else either. But if I can be the liaison to talent, more shows can happen. It’s a lot of work, but I’m happy to be connected to these folks. Hopefully, you’ll see more Jam Rock events in Denver, Boulder, and maybe even Red Rocks someday.
DJ Soul Rock: That’s what I was thinking. Reggae Bloodlines has been strong in Boulder for 47 years, and Colorado has such a rich fan base. It’s amazing.
Eton Pearcy: I’m not the first doing this. Traditional Jamaican reggae artists have come through Colorado for years. I won’t shame them for not doing business properly—Jamaica has no shortage of talent, but a lack of proper business ethics. If they had that, we wouldn’t have this confusion.
Reggae is a genre everyone should be able to do. We can’t complain that one version takes over the forefront. That’s a combination of good music and good business. When we, as an island and genre, get that, we’ll thrive.
I love the music. I was just at Red Rocks for Stephen Marley. I fell in love with Stick Figure—they have a whole playlist for me right now.
DJ Soul Rock: Yes, I love that.
Eton Pearcy: I love all the music. When you see folks like that, you should be grateful to be backstage and part of the conversation so you understand the disconnect.
It’s not talent or creativity—it’s business. We need to understand how it’s done.
DJ Soul Rock: I’m glad you brought that up. Good business plus good music equals sustainability. Artists can make a living, and Colorado can have a thriving reggae scene.
Reggae is one of the few genres where the big companies might not always be involved, and that’s good because it can bring other challenges.
I read about a festival with Chronixx as headliner, but Chronixx messaged saying they never talked to the festival. I’m glad you’re changing that narrative.
Eton Pearcy: On that, booking Revolution, Stick Figure, or anyone from the Marley family usually involves big agencies—WME, CAA, etc. But many top Jamaican talents lack proper booking agencies.
When your booking agent is just “Johnny” or “Joe” on WhatsApp, it opens the door for scams. Anyone can message you pretending to book Chronixx or another big artist, and a promoter thinks they’ve got the real deal.
I still have such messages on my WhatsApp from months ago. Some use clever tactics like email addresses almost matching the real ones, just an extra letter or typo, to trick people.
Talent needs to invest in themselves to make it foolproof and professional so people can trust the process.
DJ Soul Rock: Absolutely.
Eton Pearcy: It’s not about talent—we’re very talented. I’m inspired by the lyrics and the way the music makes me feel. When I play it or attend events, even if the artists aren’t there, the music itself is powerful.
DJ Soul Rock: So beautiful. There’s something magical about being at a reggae show and feeling the music live.
I saw Stephen Marley in Fort Collins recently and was blown away. I always loved reggae, but seeing Steel Pulse at a big venue hooked me.
We love to talk about the foundation and golden eras, but there’s amazing music coming out today too. No shortage of talent.
Eton Pearcy: A hundred percent.
DJ Soul Rock: So, what’s on Jam Rock’s playlist right now? You mentioned Stick Figure and Stephen Marley.
Eton Pearcy: I’m a big Chronixx fan, listen to Protege a lot, and a new artist called Medicine who did a song with Kabaka Pyramid and Barry Salmon.
DJ Soul Rock: We’ll play that next on Reggae Bloodlines!
Eton Pearcy: I also have exclusive stuff from a talent I’m working with—J Edge, a young Jamaican singer. I’ll send you some music to check out.
I love Stick Figure’s song “World is On Fire.” Saw them at Cali Vibes recently—they’re amazing.
Also, Marley Mystic has a song called “Sugar Tempted” that’s so sexy.
DJ Soul Rock: Sugar Fire Honey, baby! Awesome. We’re definitely playing that Jam Rock set after this.
Eton Pearcy: Yeah, man, talk music and I’m ready! It’s our history. Some say “you don’t know the 90s,” but that era will be history soon. We’re creating history right now.
DJ Soul Rock: Man.
Eton Pearcy: Positive vibration, no assumptions, have conversations. There’s so much positivity and love in reggae. Once you’re part of it, talk to the players and stakeholders.
Don’t jump to conclusions. People may seem stressed, but if you talk, you’d see they’re passionate.
That’s who I’m listening to now and many more. Sometimes I hear something on a playlist and write down the name because I like it.
DJ Soul Rock: That’s what I love about KGNU DJs too—we’re always discovering new music. Jamaican reggae is the gift that keeps on giving. You can listen for decades and still find amazing new songs.
Eton Pearcy: Jam on.
DJ Soul Rock: September 20th, Cervantes, Sizzla, Jam Rock Events—it’s going to be a ball. How can folks stay in touch with Jam Rock?
Eton Pearcy: JamRockEvents.com is the best place. Also Instagram at JamEvents.CO. The website has the full story, what we’re doing, planning, and have done.
DJ Soul Rock: Your Instagram is very lively. I appreciate the thought you put into your posts.
Eton Pearcy: Hopefully, I’ll work with other events because we need reggae to be sustainable here. We need everyone invested so the genre stays vibrant locally.
If it’s not making money for the people underwriting it, the scene could disappear and folks would have to go to Vegas or elsewhere to experience it.
It’s important for all stakeholders to support—post flyers, share info—even if tickets aren’t free, show support.
DJ Soul Rock: In my experience, when you support, you meet amazing folks whose hearts are in it. That’s how we get regular shows every season.
Thanks so much.
Eton Pearcy: Definitely. I look forward to doing a KGNU presents event.
DJ Soul Rock: Thank you.
Eton Pearcy: For a promoter, it doesn’t get bigger than Sizzla.
DJ Soul Rock: Yeah.
Eton Pearcy: Same frequency as I Wayne, Capleton, Richie Spice, Queen Ifrica, Tony Rebel, Luciano, and more. We’re ready to work—strategic partnerships and right connections, helping local folks understand how to approach this properly.
I want to be the facilitator to help venues here communicate with talent. The venues are good at what they do. It’s about connecting with the talent.
Hopefully, we’ll bring more events to Boulder too.
DJ Soul Rock: We’d love that. Since 2021, the artists you’ve worked with—your passion shines through. It makes such a difference to have someone shepherd you through a new space, making it smooth.
We’re blessed to have you on KGNU Reggae Bloodlines.
Jam Rock Events—check jamrockevents.com for upcoming shows. Anything coming after Sizzla?
Eton Pearcy: Stay tuned. We’re doing a unique Sunday event in Colorado Springs.
I’m never shy about sharing ideas. Hopefully, it’ll catch on.
We do a small event with about 80 people capacity. You can check the IG page—had one last night.
Groups add their favorite music to a shared playlist.
DJ Soul Rock: Where’s that at?
Eton Pearcy: Bar 33 in Colorado Springs. It’s fun because it’s small, interactive.
If you play a song someone already played, you get kicked out—not responsible for music anymore because you’re not there for music.
DJ Soul Rock: That’s a good idea.
Eton Pearcy: Exactly. It’s about coming in, playing what you want, and discovering new music.
DJ Soul Rock: I love that—creating community.
Eton Pearcy: Sunday, yes. We also have our personal chef, Aki Tree, making the best Jamaican food—plantains, rice and peas, jerk chicken, whole food sides.
Great vibe, and it’s free. Just get on the guest list because it’s small—we don’t want 400 people trying to get in.
DJ Soul Rock: Sounds delicious. Thanks so much for joining us, Eton from Jam Rock Events. We’re blessed to have you, and we’ll see you at Sizzla on September 20th at Cervantes Masterpiece.
