When Josef Bogdanovich acquired the Reggae Sumfest brand in 2016, the aggressive businessman made the bold move to change the show’s format by eliminating the widely popular International Night.

Declaring that Jamaica’s talent pool was deep enough to carry the festival, Bogdanovich decided to rely solely on local acts to push the festival to the next level.

For eight consecutive years, local stars led the charge and there were zero inclusions of foreign acts until Babyface was contracted to perform on Festival Night Two in 2024.

With Toni Braxton scheduled to be one of the headline acts on Night Two of this year’s event, Bogdanovich said the decision to bring back foreign acts was simply a result of supply and demand, as he still believes in the international pull of local artistes.

“The audience has been yelling at us for years to bring back international acts. Jamaicans love to see an international act and we try to give the fans what they want. We try to please them,” he told the Jamaica Observer’s Splash. “They tell us what they want and we try to give them that. Toni Braxton is going to be something!”

Bogdanovich said the decision was also taken to get Jamaican acts to push their limits.

“We are also trying to get the current crop of local talent to compete with the top international acts and to be able to do that you have got to improve, get better. Vybz Kartel is international and has been doing amazing things overseas. We are capable, and what we do at this festival is compete with the best,” he said.

The CEO of Downsound Entertainment charged that, with less than a month to go before the ‘Greatest Reggae Show on Earth’ takes over the streets of Montego Bay, patrons are in for a treat. With hints of surprise guest appearances from at least one other international star, as well as a tribute to some of Jamaica’s music icons, Bogdanovich is confident the 2025 staging of the event will further cement the festival’s place as the standard-bearer of live entertainment.

“This year is going to be like no other. We have got to that place now where everyone trusts that Sumfest will deliver. Every year we take this festival higher and this year will be no different… That’s what we do at Reggae Sumfest,” he said. “It’s very natural for us as show producers to raise the bar… The team put their heads together and had discussions about how to improve the festival and we don’t overthink it. We believe in making things happen and we’re big on transformation.”

Bogdanovich shared that in 2022 the team paid tribute to the iconic Dave Kelly then followed up with a tribute to the legendary King Jammy in 2023. The festival says preparations are now underway for the 2025 tribute which will honour the likes of late Cocoa Tea, Jimmy Riley and Dennis Brown.

The festival will also be paying their respects to the late Robert Russell, a founding member of the Reggae Sumfest team. In addition to those tributes, the 2025 staging of Reggae Sumfest will also see the crowning of a new King of the Dancehall, Vybz Kartel.

Set to run from July 13 to 19 in the tourism resort city of Montego Bay, this year’s staging of Reggae Sumfest will feature seven events under one festival, culminating in two massive concert nights at Catherine Hall Entertainment Complex.

Confirmed acts include Toni Braxton, Vybz Kartel, Tarrus Riley, Masicka, Protoje, Tommy Lee Sparta, and others.