Reggae Sumfest’s 31st staging ran from July 14 to 20, 2024 at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Complex in Montego Bay, according to the published schedule: the Global Sound Clash on Wednesday, a Thursday night with Beenie Man and an orchestra plus Major Lazer’s Walshy Fire, and the two Festival Nights on Friday and Saturday — all coming days after a hurricane swept the island, with the Sumfest team mounting a beach clean-up before the gates opened, Reggae Zion reports.

Wednesday: the underdog wins

Notorious International, the Maxfield Avenue sound run by Rohan “Likkle Shabba” Henry and his Japanese wife Marie “Bad Gal Marie” Sano, took the Global Sound Clash title over Clarendon veterans Bodyguard, Code Red, Germany’s Warrior Sound and defending champion Dynamq, the Jamaica Observer reports. The prize was a trophy and $1 million from Magnum Tonic Wine, plus $100,000 for the Power Play round. “Bodyguard is a sound weh mi grow up a listen to and mi have great respect for them,” Shabba said, “but tonight was all about showing what Notorious is capable of.” “Reggae and dancehall are big in Japan,” Marie told the Gleaner. “Winning this title will mean a lot to Japanese people.”

Friday: Ms Hill

YG Marley opened Festival Night One with “Meant to Be” and “Survival,” brought up his brother Zion Marley and Jahshii — and then his mother. Lauryn Hill, who was not on the bill, walked out to perform “Ex-Factor,” “Lost Ones,” “Killing Me Softly,” “Fu-Gee-La” and “Ready or Not,” and sang “Turn Your Lights Down Low” a cappella before YG closed with “Praise Jah in the Moonlight,” the Gleaner’s Janet Silvera reports. “We tried to get her for many years, and just couldn’t get her to perform,” Sumfest deputy chair Robert Russell said. “Tonight is a historic event.”

The rest of the night, per the Observer: Ding Dong and the Ravers in the Magnum 25th-anniversary slot; Dexta Daps with “WiFi,” “Breaking News,” “Forever” and “Shabba Madda Pot”; 450; Aidonia with Govana on “RIP” and “Bruki,” leaping from the stage; Teejay with “Shub Out,” “Dip,” “Owna Lane” and “Bitcoin”; Munga Honorable on his first stage in five years; and a short, comic Turbulence set around 5:30 a.m. Capleton, on his first Sumfest since 2018, closed with “Slew Dem,” “Small World” and “Or Wah” and received the Red Stripe Living Legend Award. Not everyone showed: Valiant, Jada Kingdom, Kraff and Marcy Chin were billed and absent, with emcee DJ Boom Boom offering only a terse reference to missed times.

Saturday: ‘I am not sure how many more of these’

Beres Hammond, 68, went on at 1:14 a.m., an hour behind schedule, and opened with “Rise and Shine.” Midway through the 45-minute set he turned reflective, World Music Views reports: “You know something? I am not sure how many more of these conferences — I call it a conference because we come together, you know — I am going to have with you. Yeah, because… I wish there would have been many more, but that’s how it goes.”

At 2:40 a.m. came Babyface, the first international headliner on the Sumfest stage since 2015 and on his first Jamaican visit in more than a decade, with “Every Time I Close My Eyes,” “Cool in You,” “Never Keeping Secrets” and “Two Occasions.” “This is a journey through time,” he told the crowd, according to the Observer — though press photography was barred and the festival’s YouTube stream cut out for his set.

Montego Bay’s Nigy Boy, 23 and dressed in silver, was presented with the St James Municipal Corporation’s Silver Montego Bay Sumfest City Award by Mayor Richard Vernon, Joe Bogdanovich and Robert Russell. “My first ever performance was in the place I came from, Montego Bay,” he said. “The love is real; one heart.” Christopher Ellis, Samory I (a surprise guest in the Wray & Nephew Dubwise set), Sevana, Ras-I, D’Yani and Norris Man filled the night, and Luciano closed the festival.

Listen and dig deeper

Sources: Reggaeville — Lineup: Reggae Sumfest 2024; Jamaica Observer — “Jamaican-Japan partnership conjures winning formula at Global Sound Clash” (July 20, 2024); Jamaica Gleaner — “Notorious International ecstatic over surprise victory” (Adrian Frater, July 19, 2024); Jamaica Gleaner — “Lauryn Hill delivers electrifying surprise at Reggae Sumfest 2024” (Janet Silvera, July 21, 2024); Jamaica Observer — “Superb line-up” (Aceion Cunningham, July 21, 2024); Jamaica Observer — “Nigy Boy honoured at Reggae Sumfest” (July 21, 2024); World Music Views — “Beres Hammond Hints at Retirement During Emotional Reggae Sumfest 2024 Performance” (July 21, 2024); Jamaica Observer — “Babyface captivates Reggae Sumfest fans with nostalgic powerhouse performance” (July 23, 2024); Reggae Zion — “Reggae Sumfest 2024 Report” (July 30, 2024).

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.