A promise oft-repeated ought to be kept. The organisers of Reggae Sunsplash were at pains in the run-up to the festival to tell the media and thus the public that production breaks arising from band changes would be a thing of the past. Not that they would be reduced, or mitigated, but that they would be eliminated.

They were not, despite the vaunted two-stage set-up, and it took outstanding performances from three stalwarts against the backdrop of the morning sun (and other choice moments through the 13-hour plus show) to overcome the inevitable deflation of the audience's energy that attends such band breaks.

Luciano delivered his usual fervent performance

Luciano, an unfortunate holdover from the previous night, was the first of the morning's stars, and he gave the Richmond Estate venue the full arsenal, from the onstage calisthenics and backflips to dropping to one knee in submission. From Ulterior Motive, to This One's For The Leaders to Its Me Again Jah and Lord Give Me Strength, and with his sons providing their own free-wheeling dancing accompaniment, Luciano ranged through his catalogue, with no concern for time and the audience accepted every minute of it.

As he demonstrated at Sumfest, Buju Banton is at peace with his 'Mr Mention' period and he has adeptly folded it into a worldview that echoes Bob Marley's concern for the oppressed and the inequity without aping it.

He was in even more devastating form in set that was part show, part speech, part sermon and all heart and intellect. It may have been a tough combination for some to swallow, but Buju, working with his crackerjack Shiloh band, smartly leavened the rhetoric with hits from form every stage of his career, as well as a few of the new tracks from his forthcoming Too Bad disc. He also made space on the stage for some friends, including the long-absent Ghost, and the rising New Kidz.

Tanya 'rode' with 'style' at Reggae Sunsplash 2006

Full disclosure here: with a few exceptions (his collaboration with Luciano on Marley's Crazy Baldheads) among them, this writer has never had much time for Beenie Man. But give him his due. Arguably no other act on that Sunsplash bill could have taken the stage when he did and received the undiluted praise and adulation he did, from the first "zaga-zow!" that preceded his entry to the stage. He did the raunchy hits, the humourous ones and the recent ones and tossed out flyers for his upcoming Undisputed album.

But roughly an hour later, with the park really beginning to cook, even the loyalists had reached the limits of their endurance and began filing out of the venue. This writer left just before that final exodus, missing the still-to-come Shinehead and Diana King (who must each have seen a lot of grass before them).

This latter feature brings up another low-point. It's always desirable, even if not always possible, to have the energy in your show steadily climbing from act to act. The line-up organisation left a lot to be desired. to follow acts of the calibre of UB40 and Jr Gong with the likes of the Kingston Drummers and Kip Rich is - with due respect to the talents of each - not the way to go, particularly at 3:00 am.

The Doctor attended to his patients and left them satisfied.

With respect to UB40, they acquitted themselves reasonably well in what was their first performance on a Jamaican stage. Another UK-based reggae band, Steel Pulse, stoked the early fire with welcome war horses like True Democracy, Bodyguard and the classic Handsworth Revolution

This writer missed two of the females who took the stage in the early going, but two others bookended our Saturday night-Sunday morning sojourn at Richmond. Heather Cummings was attired in red literally from head to toe, but her set did not generate as much sparks as her ensemble.

Appearing in the early morning, Tanya Stephens matched Cummings for decolletage and easily outdid her in the performance category. Never reticent in expressing her sexuality, but blessed with a sharper lyrical edge than the other dancehall divas, she took Richmond Estate along with her on her 'morning ride' combining great timing with an easy rapport that the audience ate up.

Moments like the above, confirm that there is indeed significant potential in the Sunsplash concept as presented thus far. But some significant refinement and refocussing are now in order, with the climatic Singer's Night left to come.

Mothers can't father

Trousers in Denim

Cream of the 'Crop'