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New York City\u2019s biggest dancehall celebration is back!<\/p>\n
On Monday (June 15), Billboard confirms that Reggae Fest will return to Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Aug. 15. Jamaican dancehall sensation Masicka will headline. Presale begins Tuesday, June 16 at 10:00 a.m. ET, with the general on-sale launching\u00a0Wednesday, June 17 at 10:00 a.m. ET.<\/p>\n
More from Billboard<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s his time,\u201d Reggae Fest founder & CEO CJ Milan tells Billboard. \u201cMasicka is in his prime right now; \u2018Slip & Slide\u2019 [on Di Genius\u2019 \u2018Hill & Gully\u2019 riddim] is big; he\u2019s definitely one of the hottest [artists right now]. And he\u2019s also just an amazing person. I\u2019ve worked with him before, and I just think he\u2019s ready.\u201d<\/p>\n Masicka is certainly having a moment. Last month (May 8), Grammy-nominated reggae hitmaker Protoje gushed about the star\u2019s unique position in contemporary dancehall, telling Billboard, \u201cEvery time Masicka does a feature, he lifts the song and stays on topic\u2026. He\u2019s flawless on every feature.\u201d<\/p>\n Armed with an ever-growing catalog of hits, including \u201cWhites,\u201d \u201cMute,\u201d \u201cTyrant,\u201d \u201cRich Sex\u201d and his Caribbean Music Award-winning \u201cHit & Run\u201d collaboration with Shenseea and Di Genius, for many, Masicka is the definitive male contemporary dancehall artist. His major label debut album, 2023\u2019s Generation of Kings, reached No. 2 on Reggae Albums, and last year\u2019s Her Name Is Love EP recently picked up a dancehall album of the year nomination at the 2026 Caribbean Music Awards.<\/p>\n Last year\u2019s Reggae Fest (Aug. 30, 2025) featured a star-studded lineup of Caribbean talent including Shenseea, Capleton, Elephant Man, Alkaline, Mr. Vegas, T.O.K., Tony Matterhorn and Tantro Metro & Devonte. Barclays Center hosted seven Caribbean-headlined concerts in 2025, with those shows generating 20% of the arena\u2019s total gross revenue and drawing over 80,000 fans. Milan\u2019s Reggae Fest has been instrumental in the growth of Caribbean music at Barclays, hosting six events between 2024 and 2026 alone. In 2026, a single Alkaline\u2019s New Rules<\/a> show, powered by Reggae Fest, accounted for approximately\u00a08% of all concert attendance\u00a0at the venue year-to-date.<\/p>\n \u201cBarclays is, to me, the Mecca of dancehall because it\u2019s right there in Brooklyn,\u201d says Milan. \u201cWho wouldn\u2019t always want to have their events there? Even the security is Caribbean! It\u2019s just the whole vibe of the neighborhood, and I love it. Brooklyn is dancehall to me. When Bounty [Killer] came, he was excited because it was in Brooklyn. Being able to jump on a train, get in an Uber or even walk to see your favorite dancehall artist is unmatched.\u201d<\/p>\n With Brooklyn remaining New York City\u2019s hub for Caribbean culture \u2014 the borough officially designated the Little Caribbean district in September 2017, and the West Indian Day Parade delights Eastern Parkway every Labor Day \u2014 these Barclays Center shows epitomize the value of serving your local audience. Milan\u2019s adherence to that approach allowed her to scale Reggae Fest from its 2015 dance party origins at the Rooftop at Pier 17 to sold-out arena shows rivaling genres like Afrobeats and K-pop.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way Afrobeats was running arenas and spanking dancehall started insulting me a little bit, especially someone who\u2019s been doing this since 2015,\u201d Milan remembers. \u201cWe were on the back burner, and nobody was talking about dancehall. [For that Labor Day show], we had Mavado, Elephant Man<\/a>, Aidonia and Mr. Vegas, and we sold out. That was my first arena show ever, and the first time a full dancehall show had been played at Barclays.\u201d<\/p>\n A few months after the first Reggae Fest at Barclays Center, Grammy-winning Jamaican music icon Buju Banton became the first solo dancehall act to headline Barclays Center in November 2024. Vybz Kartel followed with three sold-out shows in 2025, celebrating his long-awaited return to an American stage following his release from prison during summer 2024<\/a>. Billboard News<\/a> went backstage with Kartel at his first headlining Barclays show<\/a>, where he brought out guests like Rvssian and Spice<\/a>. Arguably, his second of two back-to-back sold-out shows was the bigger treat, featuring an eye-popping collection of surprise guests, including Ne-Yo, Fabolous, Lil\u2019 Kim, and YG Marley.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Kartel shows, of course, were historic,\u201d Milan gushes. \u201cThe second night [had all those guests] because Kartel lost his voice! We improvised that. Moliy contacted us to come out for \u2018Shake It to the Max,\u2019<\/a> and I said, \u2018If we get Shenseea and Skillibeng, I\u2019m down.\u2019 I told Kartel the night before, and then all of a sudden everyone was hitting his manager to come through. Lil\u2019 Kim, Ne-Yo, Fabolous; there were other artists, but we couldn\u2019t have any more.\u201d<\/p>\n With the full lineup to be revealed in the coming weeks, expect this year\u2019s Reggae Fest to keep up the incredible vibes NYC has been coasting on since the Knicks clinched their drought-ending championship on Saturday (June 13).<\/p>\n Check out the official Reggae Fest 2026 announcement below.<\/p>\n Best of Billboard<\/strong><\/p>\n Sign up for Billboard’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n