The annual Best of the Best Music Festival, which is held in Miami, has announced its lineup for this year’s staging.

Scheduled to be held on Sunday, May 24 at the Museum Park in downtown Miami, the lineup reads dancehall veteran Capleton, Sizzla, Beenie Man, Tarrus Riley, 450, soca artiste Voice, Vanessa Bling, Shaneil Muir, Skeng, RajahWild, Kraff, Kkhrytical and Tifa.

This is the first time in many years that Capleton will be performing at the event, and the firebrand deejay is looking forward to hitting the stage.

“I can’t remember the exact year that I last performed at Best of the Best but it was several years ago and it’s always a great experience,” Capleton told Observer Online on Tuesday, shortly after the lineup was revealed by the event’s organisers.

According to Capleton, he enjoys performing at Best of the Best because it attracts a large demographic of patrons.

“I really enjoy the festival because it brings out the full Caribbean culture in America. You have people attending from all walks of life, different Caribbean islands and even those from Latin and Central America. The turnout is always great and flags waving from different countries, and the vibe and energy of the people is always a great vibe,” said Capleton.

Asked what fans can expect from him at the event, he said, “Well, the fans in Miami have always been so supportive of my career so I look forward to performing some of their favourites from my catalogue and since it’s been a while since I performed there, I’m really looking forward to interacting with the fans. America, like every other country, is facing several challenges so we are looking to unite everyone.”

Capleton shared why an event such as Best of the Best is important to the careers of entertainers.

“Best of the Best is important to every artistes’ career because not only is the size of the crowd about 20,000-30,000 people, but the media attention there is focused on the show and this leads to more bookings for the artistes, while creating new fan base and more sales and streams of reggae and dancehall music.”

On Monday, Capleton celebrated his 59th birthday.

“We celebrated my birthday at David House in Cassia Park where we had a sound system playing music, lots of ital food and drinks for everyone. Several artistes passed through and blazed the microphone with a short performance, including myself, Popcaan, Julian Marley, Munga, Peter Metro, Ffurious, Jigsy King and Flourgon,” said Capleton.

He reflected on his 59 years.

“The high point of my life has been sharing with the people the joy of Rastafari, living with love, humility, forgiveness, self-confidence and self-respect,” said Capleton.