Billboard is rounding up the best music festivals celebrating Caribbean music and culture around the world in 2026.
After last year’s three-pronged cultural takeover between Vybz Kartel’s comeback, MOLIY’s Afro-dancehall crossover hit “Shake It to the Max” and Yung Bredda & Full Blown’s instant Carnival classic “The Greatest Bend Over,” it’s clear the world has been salivating for more of the Caribbean’s sunny, waist-wining riddims.
Some headliners, like Beenie Man, who was part of a string of high-grossing, Caribbean-headlined shows at New York’s UBS Arena last year, are keeping up their momentum from 2025, while others, like Original Koffee, are setting the stage for seismic musical returns. Nonetheless, for most musicians, especially those hailing from Jamaica, the 2026 festival season offers a chance to display national pride as Jamrock continues to rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Melissa’s devastation.
Last year (Oct. 28), the storm became the strongest to strike Jamaica in the island’s history, later making landfall in Cuba (Oct. 29) and wrecking parts of Haiti. In the immediate weeks and months following, several of Jamaica’s biggest stars, including Shaggy and Sean Paul, banded together for several benefit concerts, two of which closed out in 2025: the UBS Arena-hosted Jamaica Strong concert (Dec. 12) and the Yellowman and Johnny Osbourne-headlined Nice Up Jamaica show (Dec. 16).
Though the major 2026 American festivals are still unveiling their respective lineups, Caribbean music is conspicuously absent from the forthcoming editions of New York’s Governor’s Ball and California’s Coachella. The latter festival has hosted rousing sets from the late Jimmy Cliff, Shenseea, Damian Marley, Original Koffee, and Chronixx in the past, but Major Lazer is the only act with a foothold in the world of Caribbean music on the bill this year. In late 2025, the Diplo-led EDM outfit added its youngest and first female member, America Foster; the rising star brought a jolt of fiery energy to December’s Gyalgebra project, which traversed dancehall and bouyon across nine tracks.
Below, Billboard has compiled a comprehensive guide to the most significant music festivals honoring Caribbean music and/or happening in the region this year, in chronological order. (Editor’s note: Festivals that have already passed will remain on the list as a reflection of the full calendar year’s offerings of events.)
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