Rebel Salute is the launching pad of Jamaica’s musical calendar. The festival has been able to claim countless moments worth remembering for sheer entertainment value: from the rain-dominated event of 1994; to the shocking presentation of the mentally challenged Junior Byles who had patrons crying; to the two (2) hours of Black Magic from Jimmy Cliff in 2005; Third World and Inner Circle in 2006; the subversive Rastafarian chants of Steel Pulse in 2010; the rebirth of Movado in 2011; the explosive performances of Stephen Marley and Damian Marley in 2012; to the masterful performance of lover’s rock royalty Beres Hammond in 2015;to the transformation of Popcaan presented under his birthname, Andre Hugh Sutherland in 2017; In 2018 there were high energy dance-oriented performances by Elephant Man and Ding Dong complemented by the sweet sounds of Barrington Levy and Coco Tea; Rebel Salute was winning with Agent Sasco in 2019; to the new and trendsetting performance in 2020 of Sudanese sound selector Dynamq and Jamaican sound selector Jack Scopio which not only brought the audience to their knees but was also trending on social media; to the performances of Tony Rebel, Queen Ifrica, Heavyweight Rockaz and Imeru Tafari on 2021 virtual edition of Rebel Salute.

Arguably traditionally an exposé for proponents of the roots-reggae genre, the Rebel Salute festival has sought to include dancehall acts, who are usually charged with the task of making a clean and positive presentation and that which is in line with the principles of the festival. Performing under their given birth names as opposed to their popular monikers, Rebel Salute aims to demonstrate that all artists, despite their respective genres, can use music to cause positive impact. Such artists who have performed include Movado appearing as David Brooks; Bounty Killer appearing as Rodney Price;  Beenie Man appearing as Moses Davis; Popcaan appearing as Andre Sutherland; and Lady Saw appearing as Marion Hall on two occasion.. Gospel artists such as Omari; and Lt. Stitchie have appeared on the festival as well.