Rebel Salute will not be held in Jamaica in 2026. The organisers of Tony Rebel’s roots festival, founded in 1994, announced in a statement posted to Instagram on Tuesday, December 23, 2025, that Hurricane Melissa had made a January staging impossible, the Gleaner reports.

“This was a very difficult decision,” the statement said. The October 28 storm, the organisers said, had disrupted the operational readiness and the strategic and logistical planning required to responsibly produce an event of this scale and cultural importance, and had hit the festival’s core audience and partners in the western parishes. “In the aftermath, it also became clear that the available time would not allow for the careful coordination necessary to deliver the standard and experience that the Rebel Salute community expects and deserves.”

‘Pause rather than proceed’

“Rebel Salute is more than a music festival,” the statement continued. “It is a sacred gathering space rooted in Jamaican culture, consciousness, and community. Guided by our commitment to excellence, integrity, and respect, we have chosen to pause rather than proceed in order to protect the trust built over decades with our fans, artistes, vendors, suppliers, sponsors, and staff.” It thanked the “Saluters” who call it “The People’s Show,” the artistes who rely on it as a platform for conscious music and the vendors whose livelihoods depend on its healthy-food tradition. “We believe that safeguarding the long-term legacy of the show is the most responsible path forward at this time.”

The Star reported the decision as prioritising public safety and the festival’s long-term future after an assessment of the hurricane’s damage to infrastructure, logistics and surrounding communities. Last January’s edition had already been scaled back to a single night at Plantation Cove.

The brand is not disappearing for the year. The organisers said Rebel Salute USA would go ahead in Florida in the spring — its first staging abroad after two postponements in 2025.

Update, January 12, 2026: Marking a quiet 64th birthday on his farm — “Melissa lick down my banana and plantain trees, and all of my avocados drop off, but me regroup, and a do me ting” — Tony Rebel told the Star the Florida show is set for Miramar Regional Park in April, and promised the Jamaican festival would return in 2027. “I can say that in 2025, we barely survive,” he said, “but in 2026 everything ago fix!”

Listen and dig deeper

Sources: Jamaica Gleaner — “No Rebel Salute in Jamaica for 2026 due to impact of Hurricane Melissa” (Dec 24, 2025); The Star — “Rebel Salute 2026 in Jamaica called off following Hurricane Melissa” (Dec 24, 2025); The Star — “Quiet birthday for Tony Rebel as Rebel Salute goes overseas for 2026” (Nicola Cunningham, Jan 12, 2026).

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.