Rebel Salute, the epithet of an authentic Jamaican festival of good music, good food and good vibes will be celebrating 23 years in 2016. It serves a strict vegetarian menu complimented by a diet of cultural roots rap from Reggae’s finest. In tandem with this, is the concept of a drug-free, violence-free and non-alcoholic event.

The festival attracts thousands of patrons per year and is particularly known for luring tourists in January to the island of Jamaica. For more information, visit: http://www.rebelsalutejamaica.com/4

A few days after receiving the good news that she was crowned ‘Best Female Lovers Rock Singer 2015’ at the annual Lady Flava Network Awards in Hartford, Connecticut for the second consecutive year, reggae songbird Sophia Brown now has her sights set on delivering a winning performance at Sting 2015, the Greatest One Night Dancehall/Reggae Show on earth. The event takes place on Boxing Day, December 26 at the Jamworld Entertainment Complex in Portmore, Jamaica.

While the full Sting 2015 lineup has not yet been unveiled, event organizers said the Boxing night event will bring back the dancehall rulers of the 1980s including veteran DJs Josie Wales, Charlie Chaplain and Brigadier Jerry who are booked to deliver a three the hard way performance.

Considered one of the hardest working female performers in the industry, the sultry Brown is hoping to end the year in a blaze of glory. She started 2015 with a scintillating performance at Rebel Salute in Richmond, St Ann in January. She then delivered a first class performance in New York at the sixth annual Linkage Awards, where we she won an ‘Outstanding Achievement In Music Award’. She headlined Sophia Brown In Concert at the West Indian Social Club in Hartford, Connecticut and held fans in a musical trance at the Taste of The Caribbean and Jerk Festival in Hartford, Connecticut, where she shared stage with reggae singer Luciano. She also performs at the 15th annual Springfield Carnival at Blunt Park in Massachusetts, and graced the stage at the 29th annual Caribbean Festival at Great Plaza, Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia.

This year’s nominees – announced by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) – are The Cure by Jah Cure, Acousticalevy (Barrington Levy), Zion Awake (Luciano), Strictly Roots (Morgan Heritage), and Branches of The Same Tree by Ghanaian singer Rocky Dawuni.

Since the NARAS introduced the Best Reggae Album category (formerly known as Best Reggae Recording) in 1985, a Marley has been nominated on 17 occasions. They have won the category multiple times.

The Cure, released by VP Records in July, is the first nomination for Jah Cure. The album, which topped the Billboard Reggae Album Chart on its release, has to date sold over 10,047 copies.

Acousticalevy is also Levy’s first nomination. The acoustic collection of his biggest hits was released by Doctor Dread Presents, an independent owned by Gary ‘Dr Dread’ Himelfarb of RAS Records fame.

Zion Awake is the second Grammy nomination for Luciano. The album was released by VPAL Music and has to date sold over 1,054 copies. Luciano’s previous Grammy nomination was in 2002 for A New Day.

The latest rhythm driven project from the Osujah camp is the Marley Riddim; a roots Reggae juggling featuring various Jamaican artists. Though the album will not be officially released until the New Year, the producer wanted to ensure that DJs can have the tracks to play over the holiday season. That being said, selectors can send an email to MJE to request a promo download link for the project; mariajacksonent@gmail.com.

Marley Riddim was created by Markel ‘Papa-Linkie’ Cole. Mixing engineers are: Papa Linkie, Fyah Flames and Jakob Harley. The executive producer is Osujah Records (owned and operated by recording artist, Lady Donna). Persons may stream some of the songs on the Marley Riddim here:

Reggae artiste Dre Island is gearing up for his first live show in Jamaica. The event dubbed, “Dre Island and the Jah Kingdom Warriors Live” is slated for Saturday, December 12 at Nanook, 20 Burlington Avenue. The young star has enjoyed a breakthrough 2015 which has seen him chart with singles such as On Time and My Love.

The Rastafari Way artiste has been getting rave reviews since his arrival onto the Reggae scene and has churned out hits including Hide Away which has gained him much admiration from peers and fans. Dre Island has also carved out a strong international following and was part of the Reparation UK Summer Tour alongside Chronixx which wrapped in August 2015.

The young Reggae artiste continues to shoot for the stars in 2016 and with the release of his latest single M16, seems to have his sights set on his target. M16 is the first single released off Dre Island’s EP/LP entitled Project Now I Rise which is expected to be released in 2016. The single has already begun to gain traction with good rotation on BBC 1Xtra Capital Xtra and BBC Radio 1 as well as local airwaves.

Dre Island’s first full live performance on Saturday, December 12 will be hosted by popular media personality, Debbie Bissoon. Admission is JMD $1000.