Rebel Salute 2K7

After returning to Jamaica from a four week vacation in the US, our only option was to go back to work and then have some relaxation at the end of the week to ease our way back in to the Jamaican lifestyle. So last weekend, we went to our first stage show in Jamaica, called Rebel Salute. Rebel Salute is a big Rastafarian reggae and dancehall concert that is attended by Jamaicans and people even come in from other countries. We had been to other concerts in Jamaica, but none of them had any famous artists or live music, just a big soundsystem with selectors (DJ's) talking over the music. The picture above shows the view of the stage. We got to the show around midnight and stayed until 8 AM, but the music was still going then and we missed an appearance by Beanie Man, one of the top artists in Jamaica today.

Here we are as the sun comes up at Rebel Salute. It got cold enough during the night that we needed long sleeve shirts. It's disorienting to go to a concert all night, because then you have to sleep all the next day. But that is how most concerts work in Jamaica. The big artists, which in the case of Rebel Salute was Buju Banton, don't come on until 3 AM.

There was a good turnout of Peace Corps volunteers at Rebel Salute. Here is Kaelyn with Reina, Sarah, and Lauren.

To read more, there are some newspaper reviews of the event below:

Conscious Lyrics - Jamaica Gleaner (Tuesday, January 16th)

Thumbs Up for Rebel Salute - Jamaica Observer (Tuesday, January 16th)

Buju a class act at Rebel Salute - Jamaica Gleaner (Monday, January 15th)

-Shane and Kaelyn