COME tomorrow, the name of one artiste will be on the lips of all the persons who attended Sting — greatest one-night Reggae festival — as well as some who did not make it to the Jamworld Entertainment Centre in Portmore, St Catherine.

This year — the festival, which is in its 27th year, is devoid of the usual tension and lyrical clashes which have characterised the festival in past years. Instead, Supreme Promotions, promoters of the event, have dubbed the 2010 staging, the collaboration.

Already what seems to be the highlights is a paired performance from former dancehall arch-enemies, Beenie Man and Bounty Killer. Earlier this year, these two put on a show-stopping performance for the Arthur Guinness Day celebrations inside the National Stadium in Kingston. That performance has no doubt set the stage for what will play out on the Jamworld stage in the early hours of Monday morning. At the Guinness event, both artistes traded ‘tune fi tune’ in a tight, well-rehearsed set which involved the backing bands for both deejays, and even saw them performing each other’s material, which truly upped the entertainment ante at that event.

Although no details have been released on the content and nature of their performance, publicity material have continuously stated that the two will appear on stage together.

The other much-talked about performances seem to centre around the current poster boy for conscious Reggae, I-Octane, and this year’s break-out artiste, Khago.

Both the Rastafari acts have been blazing a trail for themselves with a string of popular radio-friendly hits which have dominated conscious reggae and dancehall all year. These two are building quite a buzz as show time draws closer.

This year, reggage/dancehall’s lone international face has been Gyptian. With his runaway hit, Hold You this artiste has been keeping the music alive internationally in 2010. He has backed this up with a number of international awards including a MOBO and the Soul Train Award. Gyptian’s performances have also been nothing short of crowd-pleasing. He too has been thrown into the mix with a number of other acts who have not graced the Sting stage in some time. These include Sizzla, Richie Spice and Dancehall’s ‘Mumma’ Lady Saw who is taking to the stage after a seven-year absence and promises nothing short of a thrilling performance to mark her return.

For many hardcore Sting fans, if there is one disappointment to this year’s festival, it is the absence of two of the music’s most current acts, rivals Vybz Kartel and Mavado. These two created quite a bit of anticipation two years ago, and the event saw one of its largest audiences when both acts clashed on the Jamworld stage. Both acts are noticeably missing from the line-up, but Sting director, DiMario McDowell says, “the music is much bigger than any two acts, and word on the street indicates that fans of the music are coming out for a great show.”

This year, the festival has been broken down into a number of segments with the top tier being the 13 Warriors — I-Octane, Khago, Etana, Chuck Fenda, Gyptian, Sizzla, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Richie Spice, Agent Sasco (Assassin), Lady Saw, Aidonia, and Kip Rich.

But even royal families have their bad girls, and the Bad Girls segment of the production has its own baker’s dozen, including Lisa Hyper, Ce’Cile, D’Angel, Ikaya, Face, Pamputae and Tifa.

In a new twist, this year’s Sting features the Sting Commentators, known for their “laugh out loud” humour, Twin of Twins, Food Kartel, Tanto Blacks and Apache and Sarge will ensure that belly-splitting laughter is in the mix.

Those who spin the discs will not be left out either, as DJs Sunshine, Bambino and Liquid are designated Sting disc Jocks.

Blaze, Nesbeth, Zamunda, Singer Jah, Floyd West, Cush Hunta, Natural Black and Peas Head are among those in the Spotlight segment, while rising talents Mr Banging, Sophia Squire and Floyd West are in the Starlight segment

A special secret performer is slated to hit the stage at around 11:45 p.m., while MCs Ragashanti, Nuffy, Shaka Fame, Oral Tracey and Sample Man will keep a tight grip on the proceedings.

This year the Sting foundation has donated scholarships to youth-at-risk, assisted the Jamaica AIDS Hospice and the Marlie Hill district in St Catherine.