CASTRIES, St Lucia, Monday April 27, 2015 – The 24th annual St Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival gets underway this week, raising the curtain on 11 days of music and an explosion of visual arts and crafts at various venues islandwide.
The festival blasts off at Mindoo Phillip Park on Thursday with a line-up of performers who blend island culture with internationally acclaimed musical talent and diverse music genres. Among those taking the stage will be Chronixx, Destra and the Bakanal Band, Dupes, Sedale and Wildfire, Arthur Alain and Invader.
The following night, Friday May 1, “Soufriere Creole Jazz,” lights up the Soufriere mini-stadium with the region’s renowned rock, bouyon, soca and jazz musicians headlined by Jah Cure.
Moving on to May 3, the National Cultural Centre hosts Caribbean cultural icons Ronald “Boo” Hinkson, Derede Williams and Shayne Ross at the Cadet Concert.
From May 5-9, the Fringe Market at Rodney Bay Strip will offer the works of local artists, designers and craftspersons displaying a potpourri of paintings, clothes, jewellery, and souvenirs. There will also be live demos, art installations, community art and local jazz musicians.
The Hot Couture fashion show on May 6 showcases the work of designers including Anya Ayoung-Chee, the 2011 winner of Project Runway. Other designers hail from the island and beyond, including Trinidad, Turkey, Guyana, Cuba, and Guadeloupe.
“Monchy: Mizik En Kweyol” on May 5 spotlights more action at Monchy Square in Gros Islet with local bands like The Royal Saint Lucia Police Band and headliner Derek Yarde Project. “Jazz on the Square” features free shows at Derek Walcott Square in Castries, May 6 to 8.
On May 7 it’s back to the National Cultural Centre for Jazz Showcase with Joey DeFrancesco and Alain Jean-Marie featuring Grant Stewart.
Internationally renowned performers taking centre stage at the Pigeon Island national landmark, May 8 to 10, include singer/songwriter Robin Thicke; two-time Grammy winner Jon Secada; Jamaican reggae musician and actor Jimmy Cliff; Jamaican reggae superstar Beres Hammond; the “Saxiest Horn Player in the Caribbean” Arturo Tappin; Latin sensation Timbalive; American rapper Flo Rida, and the acclaimed Soca Band Krosfyah featuring Edwin Yearwood.
Pigeon Island provides the ideal venue for the St Lucia Jazz main stage events dubbed “Amidst the Ruins.” Famous for its role in the 1782 Battle of the Saints, the island boasts 44 acres of sloping grasslands, tropical forests, beaches and twin peaks, as well as Fort Rodney where the Atlantic Ocean joins the Caribbean Sea.
“This year’s festival continues to infuse artistic events with star-studded musical performances, providing a platform for local artisans, entertainers and cultural enthusiasts to also command world attention during the two-week celebration,” said Tourism, Heritage and Creative Industries Minister Lorne Theophilus.
Presented by the St Lucia Tourist Board, the festival continues to attract some of the most recognizable and sought after names in the music business and has become a magnet for visitors from the US, according to Theophilus.