Despite some rainfall at the second staging of the Lost in Time Festival at Hope Gardens in St Andrew on Saturday, reggae and dancehall lovers were treated to a medley of classics from some of the industry’s favourites as the night came to its climax.

The event was advertised to be headlined by founder Protoje, alongside Jesse Royal and Lila Iké, but there were so many other appearances that earned continuous screams and cheers across the venue. From Jaz Elise to Naomi Cowan; Sevana; Mortimer; Yohan Marley; Jahshii; Stonebwoy; Agent Sasco; Valiant; Govana; Chi Ching Ching; Masicka; and Popcaan, it was a festival to remember.

The thousands of fans in attendance resulted in tight walking spaces in the open venue, but nobody seemed to mind because of the spectacle that was taking place on stage.

Protoje, who performed some of his hits such as Hills, Blood Money and Royalty, had the crowd singing bar for bar.

He took a moment to express that the objective of the festival is to make Kingston the entertainment mecca of the island and the world.

“Every time we keep show, we haffi go some far place. Mi just want Kingston be known as the capital of reggae music, and reggae music fi deh yah suh [and] dancehall music. Music is what put Jamaica pon di map, don’t? Suh we need fi do dis, but maybe next year we haffi do it two days, because one day cyaan hold di artiste dem,” he said.

Approximately five minutes before the 12:00 am scheduled end time members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) emerged onstage to call for a winding down. Despite pleas from Protoje, Jesse Royal, and other acts on stage for a bit of leniency, the festival officially concluded a few minutes after midnight. Protoje implored the patrons to “Mek sure di Government know wi need reggae music fi play inna Kingston city,” suggesting that he believed that more needs to be done to host shows without the strictures imposed by the authorities. After this declaration, he dropped the microphone and walked off stage.

Meanwhile, co-headliner Lila Iké gave Protoje his flowers for promoting unity in the Jamaican music fraternity.

“Protoje a do some great work inna Jamaican music. Yah mi teacha, mi G!” she declared onstage after her second outfit change. She previously wore a matching purple pants and top, before opting for a customised green two piece with accents of purple and “Wurl Iké” stitched on the back.

As for the décor, the respective creative teams executed the theme of ‘time’ with numbers around the venue. There were also several photo stations that came in clutch for the well-dressed attendees — some of whom wore looks from the 90s and early 2000s.

Earlier in the night, Romain Virgo gave a stellar performance which even saw him in tears at one point; seemingly overcome with passion. Other notable performers were Jah Lil, Khalia, Ras- I, Samory I, and Jah9.