After a 15-year absence from the U.S. stage, dancehall icon Bounty Killer is set to make a historic return with his biggest career performance yet. The legendary artist, born Rodney Pryce, will headline Reggae Fest on Saturday, July 5, 2025, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York — his biggest career headlining event in the U.S..
This long-awaited return follows the reinstatement of Bounty Killer’s U.S. visa earlier this year, ending a painful chapter in his career that began in 2010 when his visa was revoked by the United States Embassy in Kingston. Alongside several other artists, he was barred from boarding flights to the U.S., with no official explanation given at the time.
The ban had a deep impact on his livelihood and influence in one of his most crucial markets. In an interview with The STAR during the visa cancellation period, Bounty reflected on how the ban curtailed his international presence. “When an artiste cannot go to and fro to spread the word, earn a money, and greet his fans, it naturally a guh slow up his career,” he said. “A star cannot shine in his house, and Jamaica is like my house, and I need to go outside in the world.”
Though U.S. embassy officials maintained that visas are never revoked for artistic reasons — including controversial lyrics — Bounty Killer remained unconvinced. “I have never been convicted of a crime, so I think it’s a personal fight against me. I see people with severe case who get convicted and get a visa,” he said. “Dem just don’t want Bounty, but I am who I am and me can’t change.”
Throughout the years, his inability to tour in the U.S. also affected his philanthropic goals. In 2018, after donating 60 beds to Kingston Public and Victoria Jubilee hospitals, he lamented, “This really affects the way I would want to help people, but in reality, it is a privilege that the embassy gives and not a right.” Still, he stayed true to his roots, declaring, “Me nah sell out Jamaica. A di blue book me a work with and me nah sell out my nationality fi nutten.”
Now with his travel privileges restored, Bounty Killer is preparing to electrify fans in Brooklyn for what is expected to be a landmark performance at one of New York’s premier arenas. The Barclays Center show will be his first in the United States in a decade and a half — and likely one of the most important performances of his life.
Presale tickets for Reggae Fest drop on Tuesday, May 6 at 10 AM, with general ticket sales launching Thursday, May 8 at 10 AM.
Buju Banton performed to a sold out night at The Barclays last November and VYBZ KARTEL became the first dancehall artist to do back to back shows at the venue in April.
