The Tribune

THE biggest names in Caribbean music will be performing in Nassau next month when the Caribbean Muzik Festival, a popular fixture on the Bahamas calendar in the 1990s, returns to the capital.

Organisers of the Festival, which will showcase over 25 musicians and bands from around the Caribbean to a local and international audience, yesterday announced the four-day event will run from October 28 to 31.

The Soweto Gospel Choir will be the special guests at the opening night homecoming/cultural event in Rawson Square, which will be free to the public and will also feature a Bahamian musical welcome. Cuba’s renowned Tropicana Dancers will headline the second night while the third and fourth nights will see the big name artists performing at the Carnival site on the Western Esplanade/Arawak Cay.

The organisers said that they will announce further details of acts, venues and ticket arrangements over the coming weeks. Soca, calypso, reggae, dancehall, junkanoo, rake ’n scrape, bacchanal and street dancing will all feature in the Festival.

“It’s official - the Caribbean Muzik Festival will be here in Nassau for the next five years,” Michael Tomlinson, the chairman and CEO of Caribbean Muzik Festival, told The Tribune. He is delighted to see the Festival return to “the cultural gateway to the Caribbean” where it started 21 years ago and to its loyal Bahamian supporters, praising the government and authorities for their unity and support in bringing the event back to New Providence and committing to it long term.

The Festival was first staged in Nassau in 1994 and ran for five years, drawing crowds in their thousands over four days and establishing itself as the major music event of the year. The traditional street party on Bay Street attracted locals, tourists and cruise ship passengers. Bahamian artists were on the bill with a number of internationally-known regional bands and dance acts.

Now, after a gap of 17 years, it is being revived and Mr Tomlinson said he has the endorsement of the government and the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, whose flagship event it is, to bring it back to the Bahamas. The Festival is expected to reach a wide audience and the Caribbean diaspora on pay-per-view television. Guest appearances by celebrities are also anticipated.

An endorsement from the Prime Minister, Perry Christie, welcomed the decision to again stage “this unique and culturally significant event in Nassau” and assured the organisers of the government’s assistance in making it a success. “The Festival will be a refreshing addition to the cultural calendar of the world,” Mr Christie said, adding that for five successive years the event was “the recipient of worldwide rave reviews which highlighted the Bahamian hospitality, musical talent, promotional innovativeness and entertainment value”.

At previous Festivals, organisers presented a Living Legend award to an outstanding Caribbean artist in recognition of liftetime accomplishments in music and entertainment. Past recipients were Bahamians Freddie Munnings and Tony ‘Exuma’ McKay, Montserrat’s Alphonsus ‘Arrow’ Cassell, Jamaica’s Cecil ‘Sony’ Bradshaw and Francisco ‘Sparrow’ Slinger, of Trinidad and Tobago.

At this year’s event, six living legends will be recognised - Ronnie Butler, “the Godfather of Bahamian music”; McCartha Sandy-Lewis, aka Calypso Rose, of Trinidad and Tobago; Hugh Masakela, whose music helped spread political change through South Africa; Jimmy Cliff, the reggae musician, singer and multi-instrumentalist, of Jamaica; Omara Portoundo, the Cuban singer and dancer whose career has spanned over 60 years; and Emile Straker, of Barbados, whose singing and whistling gave The Merrymen a distinctive sound.

Mr Tomlinson said the Festival aims to bring back “melody and harmony and put dance back in the hall”.