Reggae Sumfest is back. Billed as “The Rebirth,” the festival returned to its original two-night live format at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre in Montego Bay over July 22 and 23, 2022, after a virtual edition in 2020 and no staging last year, the Star reports. The week ran from July 18 with the Street Dance, the All-White party and Thursday’s sound-system night featuring Warrior Sound and Bass Odyssey, according to the published lineup.

“This whole festival is the most challenging one I’ve ever done in my life and with this team,” executive producer Joe Bogdanovich told the Jamaica Observer. “But with the kind of support we got from the Diaspora and everyone, it’s a sell-out show… I mean we sold everything out. That is amazing, considering that we are still in the throes of a pandemic.”

Friday: lightning, then Masicka at dawn

Torrential rain hit Montego Bay hours before Friday’s dancehall night and lightning knocked out the venue’s electricity and internet. The crowd came anyway — “pretty close to 17,000,” Bogdanovich said — for a bill that ran Intence, Jahshii, Aidonia, Govana, Shenseea, Spice, Alkaline, Masicka, Teejay, Ding Dong, Chronic Law, Skeng, Laa Lee and Harry Toddler. Spice’s set ended with her coronation as Queen of Dancehall.

Masicka went on at dawn and, in just under 25 minutes, ran “Infrared,” “Pain,” “Image” and “They Don’t Know,” brought out Stefflon Don for “Moments,” drew the night’s biggest forward with “Update” and closed with “Suicide Note,” DancehallMag reports. “Dem nuh gi mi di credit mi deserve,” he told the crowd. “Mi a di baddest artiste inna Jamaica right now.” Aidonia, on his third solo Sumfest appearance, introduced his wife Kimberly Lawrence on stage and later praised the night’s younger acts to the Star: “Shenseea gwaan nice. Spice gwaan mad and she work the audience. Me respect and love how Alkaline is growing.”

The Observer singled out Spice, Masicka, Ding Dong and a new breed — Intence, Jahshii, Iwaata, 450, Skeng, Brysco, Ikaya, Shaneil Muir, D’Yani, Yaksta and Nation Boss — as the weekend’s stand-outs. The promoters also issued an apology to Bounty Killer after one unnamed female performer “incorporated words and images into her performance that were insulting and demeaning.” “We can’t control what an artiste does when they get on stage,” the DownSound statement said. “The behaviour was disrespectful and inexcusable.”

Saturday: Beres, the Madhouse and a soaked Sizzla

Saturday leaned toward roots and lovers rock — “more about the traditional, roots music with an international appeal,” Bogdanovich told the Gleaner. After newcomers Monifa, Nvtzz, Yashamba, Khalia, Dre Zee, Wesrok, Nation Boss, Yaksta and D’Yani, Christopher Martin asked the crowd to remember missing influencer Donnalee Donaldson and Kemisha Wright, the Clarendon mother slain with her four children in June, and introduced a new song, “Guaranteed.” Koffee and Shaneil Muir were among the Observer’s picks of the night.

Radio host Richie B introduced Beres Hammond at 1:47 a.m. — “small in stature, big on hits and great with the ladies” — and the Harmony House band carried him through “She Loves Me Now,” “A Little More Time,” “Putting Up Resistance,” “Love Means Never to Say I’m Sorry,” a “Mi Deyah Again” cameo from deejay Wickerman and, at 2:33, “Rockaway,” the Gleaner reports, with a masked Culture Minister Olivia Grange rocking in the audience. Dexta Daps ran “No Underwear,” “WiFi,” “Slippery & Wet” and “Reconnected,” brought out Ikaya and Louie Culture, and changed from a prison overall to a white robe to a Jamaica 60 jacket along the way.

At 7 a.m. came a 55-minute tribute to producer Dave Kelly’s Madhouse label: Cham, Bounty Killer, Beenie Man (three outfit changes), Frisco Kid, Wayne Wonder, Mr Easy and Spragga Benz across the “Medicine,” “Showtime,” “Fiesta,” “Murderation,” “Haunted,” “Bug” and “Joyride” rhythms — with Cham and Bounty Killer teasing a profanity-laced new project. Sizzla closed at 8:30 a.m. with his all-female singers and dancers, The Sizzling Elements; halfway through, the clouds burst, and he left the stage to the Ruff Kutt band playing “Take Myself Away.”

“This is a place where champions live,” Bogdanovich said. “We have champions breaking records in every field, from the Olympic Games and World Championships to the Reggae Sumfest stage.” For 2023, he promised, “we have quite a few tricks up our sleeves.”

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Sources: Reggaeville — Lineup: Reggae Sumfest 2022; Jamaica Observer — “Joe gives Sumfest thumbs up” (July 25, 2022); Jamaica Gleaner — “Rain, Revelation at Reggae Sumfest” (Stephanie Lyew, July 25, 2022); Jamaica Gleaner — “Beres the boss at Reggae Sumfest” (July 24, 2022); The Star — “Reggae Sumfest returns with a bang” (July 26, 2022); DancehallMag — “Masicka In Top Form At Reggae Sumfest Night One” (July 23, 2022); The Star — “Aidonia hails Govana, Shenseea, Alkaline for their growth” (July 26, 2022).

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.