NEA President says Negril will bounce back

“Negril will rebound and will evolve,” says Ryan Morrison, president of the Negril Entertainment Association (NEA), in response to Dream Wknd’s decision to move the popular event to Montego Bay.

After 16 years, Kamal Bankay, director of Dream Entertainment, announced on Wednesday that the party series will relocate to Montego Bay.

Ryan Morrison noted that Dream Wknd is not the first major event to leave Negril, citing ATI as the first, and expressed confidence in Negril’s ability to recover. He added that the town has already responded with Negril Emancipendence.

As Music News reported Monday, the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce was positioning Mobay as a new home for the event, following chatter that Negril may no longer have the capacity to host Dream Wknd, and claims alleging that some small hotels are hiking prices.

At Wednesday’s launch, organizers confirmed that the 2026 staging will be held in Montego Bay from July 30 to August 4.