Reggae Sumfest's prestige has traditionally pushed the artistes to take special care in their appearance and performance. The Festival is known for artistes donning flashy new wardrobes, and backing that up with dazzling performances.

The confirmed artistes for this year's show have been hard at work in rehearsals, toning their vocals and writing lyrics to ensure this year they are at optimum performance. Expectedly, the bulk of them do not wish to reveal much and prefer to drop the surprise on the night of the show. However, the rehearsals have been going on in earnest, the new tunes have been written, the choreography of their performances have been documented, and the artistes are practicing repeatedly to ensure their performances live up to the high Reggae Sumfest standard.

The confirmed list includes Chris Brown, Shaggy Beenie Man Taurus Riley, Queen Ifrika, Tony Rebel, Jah Cure, Etana, Bounty Killer, Mavada, Elephant Man, I-Octane, Voice mail, D'Angel, Stacious, DeMarco, Chino, Konshens, Tifa, Cecile, and Ding Dong among others.

Traditional acts like Beenie Man have never been known to disappoint, always sizzling and dropping new hits while on the stage. Shaggy is also known crowd pleaser as well who soothes as easily as he seduces while on stage, while Elephant Man will electrify as intensely as he will entertain. One group that will be specially observed on the Sumfest stage is Voicemail, which is planning an extra-ordinary performance as a tribute to their fallen member Oneil Edwards. Group member Craig is not revealing much, preferring to deliver the surprise to the audience that night. However, he explained that it will be no ordinary performance.

"We're going to make it a very special one, definitely a good Voicemail performance," he stated. "We have started putting things together already, for a lot of people who had not been to the funeral…there is a song we wrote called praise his name and that is one of the songs we looking forward to performing."

The anticipation for exceptional performances is not only upon established acts but on first time Sumfest performers as well. One such act is Tifa, the self-styled dancehall Diva. This will be her first Reggae Sumfest, but she is also planning to please. "You know we can't reveal too much before the show," she joked. "But definitely people can expect a high energy set, something different than normal. It's my first Reggae Sumfest, so definitely it will be special," she noted.

With a similar buzz surrounding all the other entertainment camps, there is no doubt the performances will live up to the expected mark. Reggae Sumfest will have another memorable set of performances to appropriately celebrate its 18th year.

Reggae Sumfest is the most celebrated and supported Reggae Festival in Jamaica, and attracts the world's leading musicians and performers. In its near 20 year history, the show has boasted a superb entertainment package, loaded with the best performances, food, music, and culture. This year's Festival runs from July 17-24 at Catherine Hall, St James.