Rebel Salute Returns January 2023
Queen Ifrica has made it clear that Rebel Salute, one of Jamaica’s biggest music festivals, the show she co-produces with her spouse Tony Rebel, will be back next year at its home base, the Grizzly’s Plantation Cove in St Ann, after a one-year hiatus.
She made the announcement during the Marcus Garvey celebration which was staged by Irie FM at its Ocho Rios, St. Ann headquarters on Sunday.
“Ai, before mi guh no furda enuh, Rebel Salute 20th a January and 21st a January yuh done know enuh. If everything a kip, dah show deh affi kip! Who seh Rebel Salute fi kip? Seh Rebel Salute fi kip!” she declared during her performance at the event’s concert.
Her partner Tony Rebel, has also promised that the January 2023 show “will be the most memorable yet” and will have a good line-up.
Up, up, up,” he noted on his Instagram page where he shared a poster of the 2023 show.
“The only year we didn’t keep Rebel Salute [was] 2022. We did it virtual in 2021 and it was very good, and the last live show was 2020. For the one year that we paused it, I think absence made the heart grow fonder. The absence will make the presence better. Everybody curious, everybody is anxious, everybody wants it,” the Teach the Children singer told the Jamaica Observer in an interview.
Rebel Salute, whose mantra is “The Preservation of Reggae”, began in Manchester in 1994, at the Fayor’s Entertainment Centre in Mandeville the capital of Manchester Tony Rebel’s home parish. It was later moved to Brook’s Park, in the town and then the Port Kaiser Sports Club in St Elizabeth and then at Grizzly’s where it has remained since January 2013.
The festival has, over the years, featured contemporary Reggae Acts such as Sizzla, Capleton, Richie Spice, Queen Ifrica and Tony Rebel himself, as well as Jesse Royal, Chronixx and Koffee, but has brought back many veterans from the 1960s, 70s and 90s, including Echo Minott, Third World, Inner Circle, the Mighty Diamonds, and Johnny Clarke.
In another interview with The Gleaner, Tony Rebel had said that his next step was to “get the logistics going, along with the line-up”, noting that during its 28 years, the Reggae show has also made a concerted effort to book Dancehall artists using their given names to showcase their cultural sides.
Dancehall artistes such as Bounty Killer, Mavado, Beenie Man and have all performed on Rebel Salute, using their birth names: Rodney Price, David Brooks and Moses Davis respectively.
“We want to show that some artistes have two sides. They may talk gunman lyrics, but they can also be cultural; so when I want their cultural side, I use their birth names…. For the process of booking these entertainers who act as cultural ambassadors through their work, I zoom into their catalogue of music and see what they can bring to the inspirational and motivational process.”
Tony Rebel also said that the ground-breaking Herb Curb, which began in 2015 when Rebel Salute became the first music festival to be granted exemption status by the Government, to also advertise as a marijuana festival under the amendment to the Dangerous Drugs Act, will again be staged, but with a big difference in 2023.
Rebel Salute’s Herb Curb is an enclosed area which is to the back of the venue by the sea. It displays educational, spiritual, medicinal and recreational products and content to ganja users or persons who are interested in knowing more about the plant.
It features artisans, herb practitioners, educators, speakers, and medical professionals. In addition, there is a designated smoking lounge, complete with seating and video feed from the main stage.
Children under-12 are allowed free entry to Rebel Salute. However, persons under 18 years are not allowed to enter the Herb Curb, which is partitioned and secured by police officers and private security guards.
In order to enter the Herb Curb, persons must present valid government issued identification such as driver’s license, National Identification card or passport.
In terms of ganja use at Rebel Salute, each person is allowed to carry the permitted amount as per the amendments to the relevant legislation. However, there will be designated areas associated within the Herb Curb for smoking.