After months of anticipation and speculation the St.Kitts Music Festival Organising Committee on Thursday April 23rd announced the first cadre of confirmed acts for the Annual Festival.
In a Press Conference hosted by Minister of Tourism the Hon. Lindsay Grant and including Festival Chairperson Farron Lawrence and Show Producer Adrian Lamb the some 11, mainly regional acts, of the over 20 plus expected overall acts were announced.
Minister Grant described the festival as a magnet in the tourism industry, noting that it attracts visitors during the slow tourist season.
“Our goal going forward is to continue to set higher standards of excellence and attract even larger followings to this celebrated and exuberant festival,” the minister said.
“A serious analysis of the St. Kitts Music Festival, from a rationalist point of view, suggests that it has the potential to increase the length of stay over visitors, increase visitor expenditure, improve destination awareness and increase civic pride and community solidarity,” he continued.
He added that it is an impressive and expressive way to celebrate Kittitian and Nevisian heritage, culture and tradition.
The Biggest Act announced on Thursday was Dancehall Legend Bounty Killer. Bounty Killer will be making his first appearance at the now 19 year old Festival . Killer is expected to be one of the headliners for Day 2 of the 3 day festival .
Popular Miami-based Haitian Band T-Vice was also announced. T-Vice is one of the most popular Haitian groups ever bringing Compas music to an international audience.
T-Vice revolutionized the genre of konpa with the energetic party vibe they brought to the scene. Musical influences from reggae, merengue, flamenco and modern synthesizing from rock ‘n’ roll have made the group one of the most innovative musicians of the genre.
Reggae Crooner Christopher Martin and LEGENDARY UK Reggae Band Aswad were also announced as confirmed acts for the festival.
Former Trinidad and Tobago Soca Groocy monarch Kerwin Dubois , Antigua Soca Monarch Ricardo Drue, Soca Princess Patrice Roberts, Benjai and Blaxx were all announced as performers. They will all perform with the backing of the Caribbean’s Premeir Soca Brass Band the Roy Cape All Stars. The Roy Cape All Stars has performed at almost every Festival since the inception some 19 years ago.
Grammy Winning Merengue Artiste Tono Rosario was also announced. Rosario is the best selling Merengue Artiste of all time and is credited with popularizing merengue music worldwide. The five-time Grammy winner has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide. He is best known for his Merengue numbers and ballads.
The Full Line-Up of Artistes announced are:
THURSDAY
Roy Cape (premier brass band out of Trinidad)
Ricardo Drew (Antigua’s reigning Soca Monarch)
Blaxx
Kerwin Dubois
Benjai
Patrice Roberts
T-Vice (from Haiti)
Tono Rosario (from Santo Domingo)
FRIDAY
Christopher Martin
Aswad
Bounty Killer
After months of anticipation and speculation the St.Kitts Music Festival Organising Committee on Thursday April 23rd announced the first cadre of confirmed acts.