In the wee hours of Saturday morning (Feb. 28) — the same day Protoje’s Lost in Time Festival was slated to kick off its third staging — Israel and the United States mounted a coordinated attack on sites across Iran, sparking a still-unfurling global conflict that will likely define the year, and potentially the rest of the decade.
With the tension of an uncertain global future and the unbearable boots of imperialism and late-stage capitalism still digging into the back of regular everyday people, the Lost in Time Festival was tasked with easing emotions and heralding unity — two things that reggae music is uniquely equipped to facilitate.
Held at Hope Gardens in Kingston, Jamaica, Protoje launched Lost in Time in 2023 alongside co-founder and fellow St. Elizabeth native LeAnn Ollivierre. With his fast-growing festival, the two-time Grammy-nominee hopes to provide a first-rate festival experience for his beloved island that specifically champions reggae’s next generation. This year’s iteration, which pulled over 8,000 attendees across each of its two days (Feb. 28-March 1), also saw a portion of its proceeds benefitting Hurricane Melissa relief efforts — another reminder of our collective fate as global citizens that hung in the air over the weekend.
Moreover, the festival also helped kick off Protoje’s global spring 2026 tour, which will take him across the United States and Europe in support of his forthcoming The Art of Acceptance album. Modeled after iconic music and arts festivals like Coachella, Lost in Time featured several independent food vendors, a lineup that prioritized new-gen reggae stars, art installations and comfy suits for those willing to shell out a little extra bread.
The first night of Lost in Time featured performances by Joby Jay, Yeza, Iotosh and The Voice alum Tessanne Chin. Fresh off their 2026 best reggae album Grammy nominations, Lila Iké and Mortimer also delivered fiery sets, as did reggae icon Tanya Stephens and the night’s headliner, Protoje. Each artist put on a show that was worthy of their place on the lineup, but the one-two punch of Iké and Protoje was nothing short of magical.
Iké, who helped open the Grammy Premiere ceremony last month (Feb. 28), brought a powerful message of perseverance and resilience to the Lost in Time stage. Intense mental health challenges resulted in a rocky path from her debut EP (2020’s The ExPerience) to her star-cementing debut studio album (2025’s Treasure Self Love), and the Manchester Parish native laid her soul bare on Saturday night.
Rocking two-toned blue braids to match her streetwear-adjacent all-blue fit, Iké ripped through selections from her small but mighty catalog, supplementing each song with intimate, humorous banter. From the lively dancers that rushed the stage for “Romantic” to her serene rendition of standout standalone single “Good & Great,” Iké proved that she’s not only more than ready to rule festival stages, but she’s also verifiably headliner status. The Grammy nominee had every member of the audience wrapped around her manicured fingernail as she channeled the full gamut of emotions that ground her revelatory Treasure Self Love. Sure, more uptempo moments like “Fried Plantain” were particularly fun, but few Lost in Time performances matched the gravity of “Scatter.”
Of course, Iké also took an opportunity to honor the late reggae greats before her, namechecking Garnett Silk as she prepped her guitar for a section that included a cover of Grammy-nominated reggae fusion band Third World’s “96 Degrees in the Shade.” When she closed her set with a real-time testimony in the shape of her signature hit “Where I’m Coming From,” Iké tapped into the divine. For the first time in what feels like forever, a pop star saying some variation of “life gets better” or “there are brighter days ahead” actually meant something. Through her candor, Iké primed her set closer to be a song that didn’t just get bodies swaying but also kept brains thinking and hearts feeling. And that’s what reggae is all about.
After Iké cleared the stage, Protoje delivered a star-studded set that featured his own vibrant hits (“Rasta Love”), as well as appearances by Damian Marley, Romain Virgo and Original Koffee. In addition to a performance of “At We Feet,” his recent collaboration with Protoje, Marley also gifted the crowd a truncated set of his own, including his seminal “Welcome to Jamrock,” which predictably sent the crowd into a frenzy. His brother, Stephen, also performed a bit of “The Mission.” While Romain Virgo held it down for reggae’s lovermen on night one, it was Original Koffee who truly stole the show. The Grammy winner emerged in a white T-shirt, shorts and a snapback to assist Protoje for “Switch It Up,” their 2020 collaboration. Koffee hasn’t performed at a major Jamaican festival since 2022’s Reggae Sumfest, so her appearance absolutely delighted the crowd — and her voice sounded as pristine as ever.
Night two of Lost in Time festival featured performances by Dahvid Slur, Royal Blu, D’yani, Jah9, Juno Award nominee Naomi Cowan, two-time Grammy nominee Jesse Royal, and Grammy nominee Chronixx, in his first full set on Jamaican soil since 2019. Always dapper, D’yani delivered a suave showcase for the ladies. The electric Jesse Royal, whose set featured appearances by Yohan Marley and Jah Lil, enamored the crowd by celebrating his beautiful daughters onstage. Royal’s set was one of the night’s most passionate — from reflecting on his recent life-threatening car accident and taking the time to rebuke pedophilia. The final night of the festival was terrific, but the weekend’s big moment belonged to Chronixx.
The reggae savant returned last year with Exile, his first collection of new music since 2017’s Chronology. A raw celebration of the spirituality and humanity of roots reggae, Exile landed at No. 1 on Billboard’s 10 Best Caribbean Album of 2025 list — and Chronixx’s instantly legendary set was proof positive. As he stood on stage in silence, taking in the moment and holding reverence for where Jah has brought him on his life journey, a calm chill swept across Hope Gardens. This was going to be an all-timer festival performance. And that it was. Chronixx seamlessly crooned through older hits like “Eternal Fire,” “Big Bad Sound” and “Here Comes Trouble” before transitioning to Exile with cuts like “Keep On Rising” and dedications to the late Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare.
And then, in storybook fashion, the power appeared to go out. Lights dimmed on the stage and all the sound cut, but the crowd responded the way only Jamaican reggae lovers could: with grace and music. As Chronixx tried to assess the technical difficulties, the crowd started singing songs from his catalog, with different pockets tackling different eras of one of contemporary reggae’s shining stars. After around 15 minutes, the problems were rectified, and Chronixx returned to the stage, with his time seemingly extended to account for those complications.
When the Spanish Town native broke out his acoustic guitar for “Hurricane,” a harrowing Exile standout that arrived just before Melissa devastated Jamrock, it seemed as though the audience shared one set of lungs. You could hear a pin drop as Chronixx cooed his way through the song; his soulful, grounded voice soaring across Hope Gardens and into the larger universe. Armed with a robust brass section, pitch-perfect background vocalists, an incredibly tight band and his own stirring voice and songwriting skill, Chronixx delivered a festival set that will be referenced, discussed and reflected upon for years to come. And that’s to say nothing of how nearly every Lost in Time performer put American lineups to shame with their sheer physicality, breath control and devotion to truly live music.
For two days, as the world around it continued to burn, Protoje’s Lost in Time Festival transformed Kingston’s Hope Gardens into a haven of security and serenity that also directly spoke to the great horrors of recent years. As the Epstein files slowly unravel some of the world’s most powerful circles, and as increased surveillance and senseless state-sanctioned violence batter the globe, reggae’s superstars-in-waiting proved themselves as worthy artists of their time — in catalog, performance, and musical adherence to the principles of the Rastafari religion that informs the genre and all its offshoots.
