BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — A legendary lineup of artistes opened Barbados Reggae Weekend 2026 on Friday to the delight of a jam-packed Kensington Oval, proving that reggae is still as hot as ever.

The aptly named Mount Gay Legends of Reggae Show and Dance featured a roster of stalwarts in the genre, including Super Cat, Barrington Levy, JC Lodge, Sister Nancy, Norris Man and Biggie Irie, alongside local disk jockeys oscillating between classic high-energy performances and top reggae tracks.

The event, which pulled a full house, was highly anticipated by patrons who shared with the Observer Online who exactly they had come out to see.

“I am here tonight to have a good time…I don’t have a favourite, I love everything, I would encourage the whole world to visit Barbados,” said one Bajan patron who identified himself as Ricky Don.

“A reggae festival can’t miss me,” said Sharone, who told the Observer she was excited to see Super Cat.

Dionne, a native of May Pen Clarendon, who moved to Barbados in 1986, was busy cutting up the dance floor but said she and her family had been attending the event every year.

“[It’s] good, good, authentic Jamaican reggae,” she noted, expressing particular interest in seeing JC Lodge.

Theo, who is from California, said what keeps him coming back to Barbados Reggae Weekend is “the vibe, the music and the artistes”.

Similar sentiment was shared by thousands of others as the standing-room-only Oval was packed to capacity, and many stadium seats were also filled out.

The veteran musicians delivered on patrons’ desire for the music, and vibe with Biggie Irie, hailed for his smooth voice, opening the show and adding in a tribute to iconic reggae musician Stephen “Cat” Coore, who passed away in January of this year.

Sister Nancy brought high energy as usual, hyping the crowd with her traditional deejay-ing style before closing out with her mega-hit Bam Bam.

Commenting on the longevity of her career and particularly her popularity with young people, Sister Nancy, who has been in the music scene since the 70’s, told the Observer.

“Young people always love Sister Nancy…I’ve been here since 1976…Don’t you hear what I say? Ain’t no stopping Nancy. I mean that,” she said.

The longevity of the genre as a whole was also addressed by JC Lodge, whose hit Someone Loves You, Honey got the entire crowd singing.

“Reggae is loved all over the world, but sometimes I think it gets a little bit of a fight,” she told journalists after her set.

“For example, I live in the United Kingdom (UK) and years ago…it was played on mainstream channels in the UK, but now not so much. You might hear Bob Marley, Sean Paul, but not much else,” she explained.

Sharing that the genre was seen as more of an ethnic music form now she said this made it difficult for people to make hits. Noting this, she described Barbados Reggae Weekend as a “wonderful” venture.

“I am happy that there are events like this that still push reggae because there are still reggae fans out there and they wanna hear it.”

Lodge, to the delight of the crowd, stripped down to her shorts in a multi-layered orange ensemble for a quick dance number.

Sharing her pleasure at performing on a night designated for the legends of reggae: “It’s great to be celebrated by fans, by the audience, because as an artiste, that’s what I am here for.”

The arrival and performances of Barrington Levy and then Super Cat early into the hours of Saturday morning electrified the crowd; even occasional drizzles of rain were inconsequential, with concert-goers preferring to take a bit of a splash rather than miss the show.

Following the event, patrons expressed their pleasure with the show. One young woman told the Observer that the performances were a “masterclass” in reggae.