Rebel Salute 2019: At a crossroads?

It has been said that change is the only constant thing in life. So with that being said the Organic H.E.A.R.T Group of companies, long time organizers of Rebel Salute, might need to adjust the structuring of their long running festival once again. After 19, largely successful, years in Manchester and St Elizabeth, Rebel Salute, in 2013 made the move to Richmond Estate, St. Ann. This move was well calculated, as many felt Salute had certainly out grew the Port Kaiser Sports Club, its location in St. Elizabeth, and timed with – at the time – the opening of the Northern Coastal highway; provided a proper gateway to one of Jamaica’s busiest tourist regions for the event.

Combined that with the extension of the event to a two day festival instead of the one night stage show format, Rebel Salute had setup itself to be one of Jamaica’s premier concert series for years to come. However with growth often comes additional issues such as the ones occurred on both nights of this year’s staging. Now don’t get me wrong, Rebel Salute 2019 was far from a disaster. Both nights were well represented and the normal setup on the grounds of the estate were flawless as usual however the old woes that plagued Rebel Salute in its last days at Port Kaiser has now started to reemerge. Gross mismanagement of time in regards to each artists set visibly affected the audience in certain spots, even though the show had two nights dedicated solely for performances. This year’s setup also had the problem which saw Friday night’s lineup pale in comparison to what Saturday delivered; however this and the aforementioned performance time mismanagement should be under control by the next staging January 2020. Now please enjoy our highlights, shot by Warren Mckane, over the two day festival.