MONTEGO BAY, St James – The week-long staging of Reggae Sumfest moves into high gear tomorrow night with the first of two live shows at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre, featuring a galaxy of dancehall stars.

Among those scheduled to perform in front of an expected bumper crowd tomorrow are: Alkaline, Shenseea, Aidonia, Mavado, Bounty Killer, Tommy Lee Sparta, Masicka, Devin Di Dakta, Tifa, Jahmiel, Dexta Daps, Spice, and Tory Lanez.

On Saturday, the closing night, Sean Paul, Richie Stephens, Beenie Man, Sean Kingston, Sizzla, Jah Cure, Mad Cobra, Kabaka Pyramid, Meliku, Christopher Martin, Queen Ifrica, Stephen Marley, and Jo Mersa Marley are scheduled to take the stage.

The festival, which marks 25 years of stellar Jamaican entertainment, kicked off with a beach party on Sunday. The staple All-White Party at Pier One took place on Tuesday, while Sumfest Blitz was scheduled for last night. Tonight will see the exciting Sumfest Heavyweight Clash at Pier One.

During the Montego Bay launch, Downsound Entertainment boss Josef Bogdanovich, chairman of Summerfest Promotions, the organisers of Reggae Sumfest, explained that the festival was moved to one week “to extend the access to the culture for visitors and encourage Jamaicans to vacation at home”.

Organisers are hopeful that this year’s staging of what is frequently dubbed, “The best reggae show on Earth”, will be the biggest ever.

Last year, capitalising on the global affinity for the Reggae Sumfest brand, the 2016 ‘Hi-Definition’ Broadcast and 360 live streams showcased the festival free for over 500,000 live individual viewers. A further two million-plus views on YouTube one week after the festival signalled increased global demand for the event.