After a month full of reggae music, of which I got to spend three weeks in Jamaica, one of Jamaica’s biggest global assets, Reggae Month, came to an explosive end with the Lost In Time Festival in the beautiful Hope Gardens in Kingston, Jamaica. Although I submitted my press accreditation request weeks before, it wasn’t sure for me whether I was going to witness again all the entertainment that made me appreciate this particular festival in 2024. Not in the least because of the great stage light, which is key, duh, for photographers like me.
For me, it is always important to come early and catch the vibes, scan the venue, and optimize my workflow and energy while working. Although the setup was changed this year, it was changed for the better. The LIT Stage and the Foundation Stage were closer to each other than during the 2024 edition, so that was the first win. The security personnel were top-notch and very friendly this time around, so everything was smooth sailing. Good to be at a festival that doesn’t treat media and photographers like an inconvenience (to say it nicely).
Lost on Day 1
The first day started exactly at the advertised time, which is rare in Jamaica. Protoje and his team clearly paid attention when touring abroad. Start as advertised, not when patrons start rolling in an hour and a half later. My opinion on that is simple. If you are not on time, you miss out. Bad luck!
Back to the first performance. Another reason why I wanted to be there early was that I didn’t want to miss a full set from the talented Joby Jay. I’ve been following her for quite some time now, and she lived up to my expectations. An energetic set, with dancers and all. I liked it a lot. Especially when Joby called Chris Malachi on stage. I have seen him perform a few times before, and Chris is a real singer with a voice like velvet. Artists like Chris are way too underrated in reggae music, and I wouldn’t mind seeing Chris on stages worldwide.
Straight after Joby on the Foundation Stage (why this name, I wondered), the crowd was treated to a solid performance by skillful singer Iotosh, who had been touring Europe this summer and left a great impression there as well. The singer got a large forward from the crowd when he closed his set with “Fill My Cup”, a track that has been doing relatively well on the streaming platforms. Make sure to check it.
The good thing about festivals is that you get to see the new stars as well as the big ones. After Joby I moved back to the LIT Stage for one of my favourite female artists and winner of Season 5 of NBC’s reality TV show The Voice, Tessanne Chin. Watched by her mom in the crowd and her dad from the stage, the artist again managed to give me goosebumps, especially during her tribute to reggae legend Jimmy Cliff with The Rebel In Me, and of course during Broken Melody and Hideaway. Rocking a beautiful red outfit with a great visual backdrop, I really enjoyed watching this segment of Lost In Time.
Around 7 PM, I stayed at the LIT Stage for one of the crowd’s favourites, Mortimer. It was noticeable that the artist has a large following among the fashionably dressed, unapologetically expressive audience. I hope I am not sounding too critical or old when I say that I didn’t expect belly skin, nipple covers, and pum pum shorts at a Rasta Reggae festival like this.
Before I continue, I have to compliment the festival’s set designer or creative director. Every artist’s set told its own story, and the visuals on the big LED walls complemented the artists’ songs and vibe. As a creative myself I could highly appreciated that. In Mortimer’s case, the stage was kept simple and dim-lit, consisting of nothing more than a cubical wire frame, like an aquarium with a mic stand draped with flowers. Not optimal for photographers, but hey, we will find a way to capture the artist. The performance was well received by the crowd, especially during favourite tracks like “Lightning” and “Not a Day Goes By”.
Time for another one of my favourites, Yeza. Another artist that has been on World A Reggae’s radar for quite some time now, and I love to see the progress and growth in Yeza as an artist. I mean, entering the Foundation Stage ‘pon a bike back’ is something I hadn’t seen in Jamaica yet. Kudos for that Yeza.
Another thing that I, as a photographer, appreciate is the high level of energy. The kicks, the jumps, the motorbike, things that make it worthwhile for me to stand in front of a stage and come back with wicked pictures. And to top it off even more, Yeza gave me a fanboy moment by pulling the Queen of the Pack, Patra, on stage for their track “Organic”. For those in the younger age group… Patra was (and still is) the embodiment of dancehall music in the 90s. Even Lila Iké covered “Romantic Call”, go figure. Please go check Patra if you want to hear more.
Next artist on the Foundation Stage, another one of my favourites from when I grew up listening to her music, knowing every song, or at least phonetically, Tanya Stephens. Not only a bad (meaning good) artist, but also an avid storyteller. Backed by Dub Squad, Tanya weaved hit after hit together with entertaining stories, slackness in a fun way, exactly how it is meant to be. Now I finally know what I have been singing when I sang along with “Goggle” in the 90s. It was good to hear the predominantly young crowd sing along with Tanya’s tracks. Tanya, yuh large! Mi love yuh!
After getting my kicks from too many camera clicks, it was time to rush back to the LIT Stage (and I’m losing weight from all the walking up and down) to see the Grammy-nominated Lila Iké, whom I mentioned earlier. As expected, Lila didn’t let down, rocking her big blue outfit. A treat for photographers as well as for the crowd. As Triston Palmer once sang, “Entertainment is a form of enjoyment.” Looking fit and tuff, Lila conquered the crowd, and it was good to see her in a better headspace, as she mentioned herself during her set.
Personally, I would have appreciated it if Lila had asked Patra on stage too, since she was already on the premises of the event. That would have made my day, and it would have been a great gesture from the new generation to the ones who paved the way. I hope Lila didn’t get burned cause that fire looked like a close call!
But… just as on the festival itself, we affi gwaan.
Around 10:30 mister LIT himself, Lila’s protégé, Protoje, took the stage and got the crowd instantly wild as he kicked off with his tribute to Ini Kamoze on “Kingston Be Wise” and “Make it in Life”. During “Feel It” the CEO and face of the festival brought the always beautiful Alaine on stage, followed by superstar Romain Virgo and Mortimer to perform their track on the Feel It Riddim. Of course, again, this was highly appreciated by the crowd, and this time Mortimer did step into the spotlight :P.
To top off the first day of the festival, the patrons were also treated to more Lila Iké, while Koffee ran on stage for a quick piece of Switch It Up, followed by the appearance of Damian Marley during At My Feet. He later took the stage again with The Mission together with his brother Stephen Marley, before closing the night with Welcome To Jamrock. Again, a true treat for the Jamaican people, who don’t get to see the Marley Brothers live that often on Jamaican soil.
Before I end the first day, ‘Mi Affi talk truth’, I have to say something here from a photographer’s point of view, and I know I speak for many of my colleagues. I will never fully understand how accredited professional photographers are expected to properly do their work in an area filled with dancing, jumping people, manoeuvring through a forest of cellphones, being pushed around while trying to keep a steady shot, and then suddenly ending up with a meter-long selfie stick right in the middle of what would have been the perfect picture. And don’t even try arguing with Likkle Miss Selfie Stick. I get it, everybody wants their moment and their clip for Instagram, but sometimes it really feels like running an obstacle course while trying to capture a historic performance. Maybe photographers are still seen as an inconvenience after all?
Energised, hyped and tired, I went backstage to catch a bit of the networking and see some familiar faces and link. After that, I returned home to start editing what turned out to be some crazy, sharp shots.
Lost on Day 2
After a short night of sleep, which happens a lot when in Kingston, the second festival day started early. As always, the early bird catches the first artists, and in this case, also some great people from the business side of things came early: Ineffable’s Adam Gross and Diego Herrera, and upcoming male artist “Surfer Girl” aka Carter Reeves. Make sure to check out his music!
With the first day of LIT closing Jamaica’s Reggae Month, the second day opened a next month. How better to start March than heading straight to the Foundation Stage for the opening performance of the day by Trench Town Rocka Dahvid Slur. Dahvid has been on the World A Reggae radar for quite a while now, and it was great to see his progress and presence at the bigger festivals. A little bird even told me that we will see the new Roots singer this summer on some global stages, something I am surely looking forward to.
During his set, Dahvid brought one of the other current rising stars on stage, Karbon D Hardone, who has been around for quite some time but is also starting to make his way to the global stages. Karbon has been honing his craft through Richie Spice’s 5th Element camp and is currently making waves with his hit song Jamaica.
Already struck by having a severe episode of my Reggaemylitis, I found my way for the first time to the LIT Stage for, again, a well-styled set by Jamaica’s Paradise Plum, Naomi Cowan. The talented and beautiful daughter of reggae royalty Tommy Cowan and Carlene Davis. Naomi’s set was a lovely display of her talent as a performer, creating a somewhat romantic, subdued mood with a cherry on top, supported by the great visual background on every tune. It was clear that Naomi was one of the artists that the mainly young crowd came to see, as they were singing along to almost every one of her tunes.
Around 3 PM, it was time to run again, back to the Foundation Stage for a performance by Royal Blu, another talent who emerged from Spanish Town who has been traveling globally for a while and released his lyrically top-a-top album Spain Root last June 2025. Of course, Royal Blu’s performance would not be complete without his partner in crime Runkus stepping on stage for 911, followed by Protoje for Live From Kingston. A set balancing between reggae and hip hop, which I personally enjoyed a lot and like to call Reg-Hop.
The next artist on the bill is a female whom I enjoyed following on her road to greatness: Jah9. Since around 2010 I have seen her journey from a rebellious young Rasta voice into a confident, powerful woman embracing her female and inner energy. Coming on stage in a Yukata-style dress, fitting a lovely Sakura, Wabi-Sabi styled set, the artist was a true joy to photograph. Even more so when she revealed a completely different, more sensual and feminine style underneath, seemingly reflecting her current body of music and lyricism. Again, well received by the lively crowd and visually stunning.
After a quick patty at the Mother’s Booth (where is Juici when you need them), one of the biggest stars of the festival for me was about to make his appearance: Jesse Royal. As always, from the first note to the last, Jesse manages to entertain and keep the energy high. Especially this time around, when Jesse used his secret tool to win the crowd: his beautiful daughter and her lovely friend sang along with Jesse’s rendition of the popular Christian hymn This Little Light Of Mine. A moment that was well received by the many “awes” and “oohs” from the moved patrons.
To bring the vibes back to reggae music, the Small Axe pulled out another trick with the appearance of Yohan Marley, son of Stephen Marley, for their hit song Blessing. And if that wasn’t enough, fellow artists Iba MaHr and Jah-Lil shared the stage with the humble artist to make the joy even bigger. Another impressive performance.
By the time the clock reached 6:15, it was time to head back to the Foundation Stage for the last show on that stage. An artist that I hadn’t seen live before, but knew from songs like Feelings and his latest hit Live A Little: D’yani. I need to be honest here. Although I love D’yani’s vocal skills and his tribute to Dennis Brown and Beres Hammond, I kinda gave up when the smoothness and red roses for the ladies appeared. D’yani seems very aware of his looks and how his audience reacts to that. And that audience is certainly not me lol. D’yani’s performance had the crowd so excited that even the grass in front of the stage got moist.
Anywayyyyy, back to the LIT Stage for the main act of the evening. A show that probably the whole venue had been waiting for: Chronixx’s first full show on Jamaican soil after what he called his about seven-year “exile”. Which is also the name of the latest 17-track masterpiece he delivered in October 2025.
The complete Exile experience seemed to be equal to the one he had at the Reggae Land festival in the UK, which was also well received. The singer has seemingly found a new way to brand and express himself in those seven years. Again, just like Jah9, into a more mature and grounded artist who has an aim to take reggae music to a different level, musically, lyrically, and spiritually. After the show I heard terminology like “magical”, “historic” and “soul-stirring”, although as a photographer, I must admit that I visually liked the Chronixx who was kicking and jumping on stage in 2013 more. Jamar yuh Large!!
I don’t really like to highlight aspects of a show that doesn’t go as planned, but in this particular case, the minor electricity challenge created the wonderful phenomenon of togetherness and warmth, the kind of unity that makes reggae Reggae. As the sound was gone from 9:22 until 9:38 PM, the crowd spontaneously started singing Chronixx songs from front to back. The artist seemed visibly moved by the gesture and stayed on stage singing along with the crowd. A mixture of disappointment from the sound issue and smiling bliss from the crowd on his face.
To recover from the “lost” sixteen minutes and seemingly to get the vibe back, Protoje instantly jumped on stage after the silence for their smash hit Who Knows, which made the crowd forget the incident in a flick of a light switch. Whether this was a smart move or part of the initial set remains unknown to me. Anyway, it was a brilliant move to get the crowd back, although it felt a bit off for me after the magical mood that had been created earlier.
Chronixx closed Lost In Time with Exile, a fitting message to end two nights in Hope Gardens. We hope to be back next year to witness the next edition of what I see as what might be a new era in Jamaican festivals. A complete experience: Music mixed with fashion, from Bobo to Balenciaga, from mesh marina to Mark Jakobs, from the almost complete absence of red, gold, and green, to the exposure of more skin than ever on a reggae (Rasta) festival.
Anyway, things seem to change, tables are turning, and I can only see this as a way to draw younger crowds to the reggae genre. As I said before, music is for all. If you don’t like it, then don’t listen to it or go to a festival like Lost In Time.
As I learned during my times in Kingston, there is a vibe here for everyone. From the strictly roots environment at Wickie Wackie, more street vibes at I-Frequency, raw vibes with Dub School in Trench Town, intimate settings at Dubwise, or the more uptown fashion vibes at Lost In Time. We have to experience it, embrace it and find our own crowd.
Respect and thanks to Proto and his team for another great one! Looking fwd to a next one.
By Danny Creatah
