Last year the festival expanded to two days, with the Friday night show being staged on the top field.
It was definitely better this year with last night's show being held on the main stage.
First up at 4.40pm was Soljah followed by Tiki Taane (featuring Optimus Gryme).
Taane's set was well-received, particularly his first song, popular hit Always On My Mind.
Ardijah were up next and nailed it. Betty-Anne Monga proved she's one of the best of the business, nailing every note she hit and reminding New Zealanders just what an iconic group they are.
Their set was spot on, playing all their hits that have made them famous.
The only criticism was it was too short - so a message to the organisers, get them back next year and let them play longer.
Rebel Souljahz from Hawaii burst onto the stage next in style. Dressed in red and black with white face masks, the crowd went wild for this boy band of reggae.
While not all their songs were instantly recognisable, they mixed it up with some good covers.
Then it was Shaggy's turn. This master of entertainment didn't disappoint.
He had the crowd in the palm of his hand from the beginning (maybe he won us over by paying a tribute to Lorde's Royals song).
Shaggy mixed up new songs with all his hits including Mr Boombastic, Summertime, Strength of a Woman, Angel, It Wasn't Me and Luv Me Luv Me.
He said he'd spent 50 hours travelling from Jamaica to be in Rotorua, and he was determined to make the Friday night show one to remember.
He was also pretty determined to make it better than today's show by laying down some cheeky competition with today's headline act Damien Marley, who joined Shaggy on stage for a number.
The challenge has been set.
Friday night was pretty amazing. Let's see what you've got today Raggamuffin.
EARLIER:
By Adriana Weber
Thousands of reggae fans have turned out to the first night of Rotorua's Raggamuffin Festival.
The two-day music festival kicked off at the Rotorua International Stadium tonight, with crowds of thousands getting a taste of the live music, entertainment and food on offer.
New Zealand artists Soljah and Tiki Taane were first to perform. Both acts received warm welcomes by concert-goers dressed in Rastafari colours or adorned with red, yellow, black and green face paint.
Tiki Taane began his performance with his popular song Always On My Mind before going on to sing a cover of Somewhere Over The Rainbow.
This is the first time Tiki Taane has performed at the annual event.
Festival-goer Peta Fa'aati, who has been a Raggamuffin fan since it started in 2008, said she was thrilled to see Tiki Taane had joined the list of "fantastic'' artists performing at the event.
"I love Tiki Taane and his music. It's Kiwiana music, music that the people of Aotearoa
can enjoy,'' she said.
The musician released his album With Strings Attached at the festival tonight and told the crowd it featured music completely different to the music he was playing at the event.
Later joined by DJ Optimus Gryme the pair played some drum and bass and dubstep music, which some crowd members were happy to hear.
"The line-up is ridiculously good this year. It's nice to see a bit of dubstep and that kind
of music played here too, it makes it a little different. It's cool,'' concert-goer Gus Kerr
said.
The band Ardijah, formed in 1979, also gave a stellar performance before being followed by Rebel Souljahz and headliner, Shaggy.
For some concert-goers seeing Shaggy perform was a highlight. Shami Anandarajan travelled from Melbourne to see the star perform. Joined by her two cousins from Sydney and Auckland, the trio were excited to see a glimpse of their favourite singer.
"We're huge Shaggy fans. We love him, he's just amazing and fantastic,'' Miss Anandarajan said.
Saturday's line up features local band Strangely Arousing, Sons of Zion, Three Houses Down, Common Kings, House of Shem, Morgan Heritage, Damian Marley and more.
