MONTEGO BAY, St James — Considered one of Jamaica’s most electrifying music festivals is poised to make historical past this summer season because the thirty second staging of Reggae Sumfest will formally crown dancehall famous person Vybz Kartel as the brand new “King of the Dancehall”.
The announcement was made on Wednesday evening by Josef Bogdanovich, CEO of Downsound Leisure, through the official Sumfest 2025 launch held on the Iberostar Lodge in Montego Bay.
“We’re additionally crowning Vybz Kartel, that’s a giant deal!” Bogdanovich exclaimed, drawing cheers from these in attendance. The transfer marks a symbolic passing of the crown, beforehand bestowed upon Beenie Man on the 2009 staging of the competition.
“Kings come and go. They will’t be a king on a regular basis,” Bogdanovich declared, emphasizing the evolving nature of music and royalty in dancehall tradition.
This 12 months’s Reggae Sumfest runs from July 13 to 19, with seven main occasions culminating in two blockbuster live performance nights on the Catherine Corridor Leisure Advanced. The lineup encompasses a highly effective mixture of native and worldwide expertise, together with Toni Braxton, Tarrus Riley, Masicka, Protoje, Tommy Lee Sparta, and naturally, Vybz Kartel himself.
In her message delivered by Minister Homer Davis, Tradition and Leisure Minister Olivia “Babsy” Grange hailed Reggae Sumfest as a beacon of Jamaica’s cultural identification. “It has been a celebration of our identification, a showcase of our expertise, and a strong reminder of the affect Jamaican music has had on the world,” the assertion learn.
Echoing that sentiment, Director of Tourism Donovan White known as Sumfest “our cultural North Star,” stating it embodies the “essence of our folks, the heartbeat of our tradition, and the spirit of our nationwide identification.”
The evening additionally paid tribute to the late Robert “Ducksie” Russell, a co-founder of the competition who handed away in December 2024 at age 76. Bogdanovich mirrored on Russell’s legacy, calling him “a cultural visionary” whose affect continues to form Sumfest at present.
To cap off the night, the launch occasion featured stay performances from well-liked dancehall artists Laden, Bugle, and Montego Bay native Tommy Lee Sparta, setting the stage for what guarantees to be a historic version of the Caribbean’s premier music competition.
As anticipation builds, all eyes now flip to Montego Bay this July, the place music, tradition, and historical past will collide in what organizers promise will probably be a week-long celebration like no different.
