Robert “Ducksie” Russell, one of the founders of Reggae Sumfest and the patriarch of Pier One in Montego Bay, died on Wednesday, December 11, 2024, at Hospiten hospital in Rose Hall, St James. He was 76. Russell had been discharged on Monday after two weeks in hospital, returned on Wednesday afternoon and was admitted to intensive care, where he died shortly after, the Gleaner reports. The Jamaica Observer put the time at about 5:45 p.m.

‘We decided to create our own’

Born in Kingston in 1948, a Calabar and St George’s College old boy, Russell worked with Perry Henzell’s Vista Production and was assistant director on The Harder They Come before building a string of businesses — a hotel in Port Antonio, a nightclub, restaurants and a newspaper in Mandeville — and settling in Montego Bay, where Pier One on the waterfront became a fixture. When Reggae Sunsplash pulled out of the city ahead of 1993, he and a group of Montego Bay businessmen — the eight-member Summerfest Productions — filled the gap. “A group of friends and associates got together and decided that the city’s economy was geared toward the event,” Russell told the Gleaner years later, “so when it was confirmed that there would be no Sunsplash in 1993, we decided to create our own.”

He chaired Sumfest for close to two decades and, from 2015, sold the brand to Joe Bogdanovich’s Downsound Entertainment while staying on as a director and deputy chair — it was Russell who introduced Lauryn Hill’s surprise appearance as “a historic event” this past July. For ten years he also co-produced the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival, and from 2007 to 2011 he chaired the Tourism Product Development Company. In 2017 he was appointed to the Order of Distinction, Commander Class, for his contribution to music, entertainment, tourism and film.

‘Walked with kings’

“Ducksie walked with kings, but never lost the common touch with everyday Jamaicans,” Culture Minister Olivia Grange said in a tribute reported by the Gleaner. “Walk good my friend, my brother.” Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett called him “the mastermind behind the greatest reggae show on earth, Reggae Sumfest, which placed Montego Bay on the international musical stage.”

“We have lost a giant for humanity and my best friend in Jamaica,” Bogdanovich said. “I saw Big Russ as we called him the night before his passing and we said our goodbyes. He had a smile on his face and that is a reflection of the blessings of a person who has done good for his family, his friends and his country.” Fellow co-founder Johnny Gourzong, who joined the group in February 1993 at Mickie Morris’s invitation, remembered him as “the fireman”: “If we came upon a major problem that seemed insurmountable, the fireman would get to work to remedy the situation,” he said at the memorial, the Observer reported.

Russell is survived by his wife Beverley, five children, grandchildren, a brother and a sister. A memorial service is to be held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on January 8, with musical tributes from Christopher Martin and Gramps Morgan.

Listen and dig deeper

Sources: Jamaica Gleaner — “Pier One businessman Robert Russell has died” (Dec 11, 2024); Jamaica Observer — “Sumfest founder Robert Russell has died” (Horace Hines, Dec 11, 2024); Jamaica Gleaner — “Tourism industry loses hospitality icon Robert Russell” (Janet Silvera, Dec 12, 2024); Jamaica Gleaner — “‘Robert Russell was my best friend in Jamaica’” (Yasmine Peru, Dec 13, 2024); Jamaica Observer — “Robert Russell’s legacy” (Shereita Grizzle, Jan 9, 2025). The Gleaner’s first report gave his age as 75; later reports in both papers say 76.

Editor’s note: This story is part of an archive backfill covering Jamaican music news from 2022 to 2026. It is dated to the events it reports.