Since its inception on January 15, 1994, Rebel Salute has served Saluters with 29 years of reggae music, arts, food, culture, and some of the greatest unexpected moments in reggae history.

Reggae legend himself, ‘Mr Sweet Jamaica’, Tony Rebel, recalls a few of his favourites from the inaugural Rebel Salute. The festival has provided a platform for Reggae greats to entertain their fans on a local stage.

“The late Garnet Silk’s first performance at Rebel Salute ’94 was a special one; he was on a hiatus from music at the time and returned to perform on my birthday January 15th, 1994, in Mandeville at the inaugural Rebel Salute. Rain fell the whole night during the event, and I remember no one moved. We had a capacity for 8,000, and about 15,000 showed up; we had to turn away people.” recalled Rebel, artiste and CEO of Organic HEART Group.

Another moment that brought the audience to tears in 2004 was Junior Byles’s performance.

“He was suffering from mental afflictions at the time and living on the streets for 29 years. We took him to the doctors, got him some support, and booked him on the show,” said Rebel.

Known for timeless hits like Fade Away, Curley Locks, Fever, Beat Down Babylon, Junior Byles took to the Rebel Salute stage and performed song after song after song.

While many did not know he was responsible for songs like A Place Called Africa, Weeping, and Cally Weed; his performance and all he had overcome moved the audience and industry stalwarts to tears.

At the 10th staging, Jimmy Cliff performed to the then-biggest salute audience for two and a half hours non-stop. Everyone was so mesmerised seeing him perform that no one moved an inch.

Buju Banton’s all-white performance in 2007 is another memorable moment that stands out, and who could forget the year Capleton set such a musical blaze to the stage? When you looked into the audience, there were burning trees and fire torches everywhere.

On January 20, and Saturday, January 21, thousands of Saluters will again take the annual pilgrimage to the Rebel Salute festival. This year there is no exception to the memory trend; Plantation Cove, St Ann, will play host to other unexpected moments for all the Saluters in attendance. 

To keep up-to-date with all the latest news about Rebel Salute 2023, individuals may follow on social media platforms @REBELSALUTE (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube) and visit website here.