Minister with responsibility for Tourism and the SKMF, The Hon Lindsay Grant says he is hoping that the music fest will attract at least 12 thousand people over the 3 days of the fest from June 23-35. Mr. Grant stated that over the years the festival had been beneficial for SKN, during a slow period for tourism. He said going forward his Ministry would assess the economic benefits that accrued and would put in place something more dynamic to boost revenue for local small businesses.
Freedom Fm caught up with the Minister on Wednesday the eve of the 20th SKMF. In an exclusive interview with Freedom Fm, Mr Grant also paid tribute to the over 200 volunteers who he said must take full honors for contributing to the overall success of the SKMF over the years. He said it was their patience, dedication and hard work that had made the SKMF what it is today.
Meanwhile Grant indicated that The St. Kitts Tourism Authority is pleased to announce that award-winning entertainment executive and entrepreneur Max Gousse will be on island to attend the 20th Annual St. Kitts Music Festival, which takes place June 23 – 25, 2016.
“We are excited to welcome Mr. Gousse to St. Kitts. Over the past 25 years, he has spearheaded some of Hip-Hop and R&B’s biggest projects and discovered some amazing talent, including international stars who have performed at St. Kitts Music Festival previously,” said the Hon. Lindsay F.P. Grant, Minister of Tourism, International Trade, Industry & Commerce.
“In the history of our Music Festival, this is the first year we will have so many local artists performing. Having Mr. Gousse scout the Festival and conduct workshops with local talent will be a great opportunity for our nationals to further their careers in the music industry.”
In addition to attending the Music Festival, Max Gousse will also participate in a workshop for local artists and conduct a second workshop specifically for the local artists performing in the festival, wherein he will also evaluate their respective performances. The local acts scheduled to perform on Thursday night at the St. Kitts Music Festival include Shanna, Nicha B, KJah, KES the Band, Nu Vybes Band International and the Small Axe Band, while Dejour, Mod Stoney, I-Mark, Rodney and Crucial Bankie will be performing on Friday night.
A multifaceted businessman, Max Gousse has worked as the Sr. Vice President of A&R* for Sony’s Epic Records, Executive Vice President of Music World Entertainment, and Sr. Vice President of Universal Music Group’s Def Jam Record’s A&R division. During his run at Epic, Max discovered and developed the hottest R&B group of the millennium, B2K.
While at Music World Entertainment, Gousse supervised all recordings and strategic partnerships for the company’s roster of A-list artists such as Beyonce, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. At Def Jam, he worked with some of hip-hop’s most notable artists including Jay-Z, Kanye West, Rihanna and Rick Ross.
Artists for the 20th St. Kitts Music Festival will begin arriving on St. Kitts on Wednesday, 22nd June. Crucial Bankie and the Original Burning Flames will make their entrance at the RLB International Airport and for the rest of the day other Caribbean artists will arrive. Crucial Bankie was born Ian Veira in Basseterre, St. Kitts, on 23rd November 1965. He is a singer of roots reggae with a career spanning over 30 years.
He has six albums to his credit and has recorded and performed in the UK, the Caribbean and the USA with his high point being an appearance at Reggae Sunsplash in Montego Bay, Jamaica, in 1986 sharing stage with stars like Yellowman, Sugar Minott, Josie Wales. Brigadier Jerry, Dennis Brown and Gregory Isaacs, Hugh Massakila from South Africa. He is presently based in Jamaica and is part of a conglomerate Song Embassy.
He is also working with an Italian company Mellow Mood and his 7th album is on the way. The Original Burning Flames from Antigua was formed in St. John’s in 1984. The original lineup included three brothers — Toriana “King Onyan” Edwards (vocals, guitar), David “Bubb-I” Edwards (vocals, bass), and Clarence “Oungku” Edwards (vocals, keyboards) — along with drummer Rone “Foxx” Watkins.
The band appeared at the Antiguan 1985 carnival in 1985, with their song “Stiley Tight”, which was issued as their debut single in 1986. They went on to have international success in 1989 with “Workey Workey”, which was also later done by Byron Lee & the Dragonaires. The other Caribbean artists booked for Thursday, namely: El Mayor Classico and The Original Bouyon Pioneers are set to arrive. Some of the artists from the regional on the line up for Friday are expected to arrive as well on Wednesday including Dexta Daps and Marcia Griffiths.
The Artist for the 20th St. Kitts Music Festival will begin arriving on St. Kitts on Wednesday, 22nd June 2016. Crucial Bankie and the Original Burning Flames will make their entrance at the RLB International Airport and for the rest of the day other Caribbean artists will arrive.
Crucial Bankie was born Ian Veira in Basseterre, St. Kitts, on 23rd November 1965. He is a singer of roots reggae with a career spanning over 30 years. He has six albums to his credit and has recorded and performed in the UK, the Caribbean and the USA with his high point being an appearance at Reggae Sunsplash in Montego Bay, Jamaica, in 1986 sharing stage with stars like Yellowman, Sugar Minott, Josie Wales. Brigadier Jerry, Dennis Brown and Gregory Isaacs, Hugh Massakila from South Africa.
He is presently based in Jamaica and is part of a conglomerate Song Embassy. He is also working with an Italian company Mellow Mood and his 7th album
is on the way. The Original Burning Flames from Antigua was formed in St. John’s in 1984.
The original lineup included three brothers — Toriana “King Onyan” Edwards (vocals, guitar), David “Bubb-I” Edwards (vocals, bass), and Clarence “Oungku” Edwards (vocals, keyboards) — along with drummer Rone “Foxx” Watkins. The band appeared at the Antiguan 1985 carnival in 1985, with their song “Stiley Tight”, which was issued as their debut single in 1986. They went on to have international success in 1989 with “Workey Workey”, which was also later done by Byron Lee & the Dragonaires.
The other Caribbean artists booked for Thursday, namely: El Mayor Classico and The Original Bouyon Pioneers are set to arrive. Some of the artists from the regional on the line up for Friday are expected to arrive as well on Wednesday including Dexta Daps and Marcia Griffiths.
Now entering its 20th year, the St. Kitts Music Festival attracts both locals and visitors alike. It features a wide range of musical styles on the popular market, including R&B, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Reggae, Soca, Calypso, Gospel and Contemporary music. Past artists have included such prominent acts as John Legend, Lionel Richie, Jason Derulo, Trey Songz, T-Pain, Michael Bolton, K.C. and the Sunshine Band, UB40’s Ali Campbell, Wyclef Jean, Ne-Yo, Air Supply, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, Shaggy, Kelly Rowland, Tessanne Chin, Toni Braxton, Beenie Man, The Commodores, Dionne Warwick, Billy Ocean, Sean Paul, Boyz II Men, King Konris, Stephen Marley, Regina Belle, Maxi Priest, Beres Hammond, Roberta Flack, Biggie Irie, Bunny Wailer and Lord Nelson.