Rebel Salute went back to its roots this year — one night, one stage. The 31st staging ran for close to 12 hours at Plantation Cove in Priory, St Ann, from 7 p.m. on Saturday, January 18, 2025, until Turbulence brought the curtain down at 6:44 on Sunday morning, with 23 billed acts and a handful of call-ups, the Gleaner reports.

The change back from two nights, after ten years in that format, was what founder Tony Rebel called “strategic restructuring” when the show was launched at the Jamaica Pegasus on December 19. “Fans can expect a superb, compact, wonderful show with a superb line-up who can ‘edutain’ yuh and make your musical greed be satisfied,” he told the Jamaica Observer. Supreme Ventures was title sponsor; a pay-per-view stream ran on CODATV and 1SpotMedia.

The night

Queen Ifrica, one of the few women on the bill, walked on to Garnett Silk’s “Lord Watch Over Our Shoulders” and ran “Below the Waist,” “Born Free” and “Daddy,” the last with what the Gleaner called razor-sharp new lyrics. Luciano gave the crowd “Give Praise to Rastafari,” “Sweep Over My Soul,” “Messenger,” “I Come to the Garden Alone,” “It’s Me Again Jah” and “Heal the World.”

Maxi Priest came on at 12:42 a.m. with “Prayer for the World,” “Wild World,” “Just a Little Bit Longer,” “You Got the Best of Me,” “Some Guys Have All the Luck,” “Believe in Love” and “Set the Night to Music,” plus two songs from the catalogue of the late Dennis Brown. Valiant made his Rebel Salute debut, and Louie Culture followed him at 5:27 a.m. with “Rudie Don’t Fear,” “Don’t Trust the Flex,” “Grab You Lass and Come,” “Gangalee,” “Old Before Dem Young,” “Big and Bold” and “Bogus Badge.”

General Degree — Cardiff Butt — also made his first Rebel Salute appearance. “As a professional, I know the type of crowd that this was going to be, so I had to choose wisely from my catalogue,” he said. “And I just go out there and execute … and I enjoyed myself.” The veterans’ turn included Dawn Penn, Errol Dunkley, 73 and singing since he was 11, Echo Minott — “Big up mother and father first time dem see mi perform live” — Papa Michigan, Leroy Gibbons, Roland Burrell and Jah Mason, with Tony Rebel himself and his children Abatau and Davianah on the bill.

The venue was less than half full, and the reasons were still being debated on Sunday, the Gleaner notes; Tony Rebel said he was satisfied with the turnout.

Next stop, Florida

Rebel Salute began on January 15, 1994 — Tony Rebel’s birthday — at Fayors in Mandeville, headlined by his friend Garnett Silk, moved to St Elizabeth after six years and to St Ann in 2013. Now it is going abroad: a Miramar, Florida edition is set for April 20. “Wi want to go other places, but we are not advanced with those aspects yet, but Florida is 4/20,” Rebel told the Observer. “It shows we are not stagnant; we have mushroomed into something superb. Wherever di pendulum swings there’s where we go, but with original ideas.”

Listen and dig deeper

Sources: Jamaica Gleaner — “Razor sharp words, sound and power at Rebel Salute” (Yasmine Peru, Jan 20, 2025); Jamaica Observer — “‘Superb line-up’ for Rebel Salute” (Howard Campbell, Dec 27, 2024); Reggaeville — Rebel Salute 2025.

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.