AFTER a one-year break due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Rebel Salute will be back on the calendar for January 2023.

According to event conceptualiser Tony Rebel, the upcoming event will be the most memorable yet.

“The only year we didn’t keep Rebel Salute [was] 2022. We did it virtual in 2021 and it was very good, and the last live show was 2020. For the one year that we paused it, I think absence made the heart grow fonder. The absence will make the presence better. Everybody curious, everybody is anxious, everybody wants it,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Next year’s festival is slated for Friday, January 20 and Saturday, January 21 at Grizzly’s Plantation Cove in St Ann. The two-day event generally coincides with the reggae singer’s birthday.

Tony Rebel was tight-lipped about the acts, only willing to say it will have a “stellar line-up”.

In the meantime, Rebel added that measures are being put in place to ensure that patrons, performers and vendors alike will have an optimum experience.

“Rebel Salute is always unique because we don’t sell alcohol or meat. It is a spiritual experience we always aspire to inspire and motivate,” he said.

“One thing for sure is that we always get the best line-up. It’s about an entire, complete holistic show. We want to have the craft and herb vendors at a different spot, the food vendors at a different spot, and everything planned out properly,” he added.

Commencing in 1994, the festival’s stage has seen performances by some of the biggest names in reggae and became an incubator for some young and little-known acts who would later grow to acclaim in music.

Rebel Salute was first held at the Fayor’s Entertainment Centre in Mandeville, Manchester, in 1994. It then moved to Brook’s Park, also in that town, then on to the Port Kaiser Sports Club in St Elizabeth before settling at Grizzly’s Plantation Cove in Priory, St Ann, since 2013.

Artistes such as Garnett Silk, Jimmy Cliff, Steel Pulse, Third World, Beres Hammond, a young Chronixx, and Koffee have all performed at the festival.

Last year’s virtual edition featured the likes of Chuck Fenda, Richie Spice, Sizzla, and Capleton.