The ceremony formerly known as the Grammy Certificate Ceremony is getting a new name and a packed guest list this year.
The Excellence in Music Ceremony 2026 is set to take place on Tuesday at The Courtleigh Auditorium in New Kingston, starting at 7 p.m., and the lineup of honorees reads like a who’s who of Caribbean music history.
Gregory Isaacs, Dean Fraser, Agent Sasco, Richie Stephens, J Capri, and Steely are among those being recognized, alongside Glen Washington, Chevelle Franklyn, Clevie Browne, and several others.
The full list also includes Robert Livingston, Dalton Browne, Christopher Birch, Gitsy Willis, and Noel Davey, covering a wide range of contributions to Jamaican and Caribbean music.
The event is organized by Back 2 Da Future Music Limited in collaboration with Royalty Network Inc, a pairing that signals this is more than just a local celebration.
Royalty Network Inc is a music rights and publishing company with serious industry reach, so their involvement adds a layer of weight to what the ceremony is trying to do.
What makes this list interesting is how it spans generations and roles. You have artists like Gregory Isaacs, whose legacy in lovers rock and reggae is deep and well-documented, sitting alongside younger voices and behind-the-scenes contributors who rarely get this kind of public recognition.
Dean Fraser, the saxophonist and musical director who has played on more classic reggae recordings than most people could count, is exactly the type of figure these ceremonies exist to spotlight. His work has shaped the sound of the genre for decades, often without his name appearing on the front of an album cover.
Agent Sasco represents the dancehall side of things, having built a reputation as one of the more lyrically sharp artists in the modern era of the genre.
His inclusion alongside veterans like Richie Stephens and Chevelle Franklyn shows the ceremony is trying to bridge eras rather than just look backward.
J Capri’s recognition carries a different kind of emotional weight. The dancehall artist passed away in 2015, and her presence on this list is a reminder that the ceremony is also about honoring those who left too soon and whose contributions deserve to be kept in the conversation.
Steely, one half of the legendary production duo Steely and Clevie, is being recognized alongside Clevie Browne, which feels right.
The two of them helped define the riddim-driven sound of late 1980s and 1990s dancehall in ways that producers today are still drawing from.
The rebrand from Grammy Certificate Ceremony to Excellence in Music Ceremony is worth paying attention to as a shift in framing.
It suggests the organizers want the event to stand on its own identity rather than being defined by its association with Grammy recognition, which could open it up to honoring a broader range of contributors going forward.
The New Kingston venue and the Tuesday evening timing suggest this is being positioned as a proper industry event, not just a casual gathering. With this many names on the bill, the room is going to carry a lot of history.
