First ever Antigua Music Festival hailed a first-rate event

By L.K. Hewlett
Editor- SKNVibes.com

ST.  JOHNS, Antigua- INTERNATIONAL, regional and local singing sensations created a legacy for the Antigua Romantic Rhythms Music Festival held June 13-15 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, leaving patrons wondering if the level of entertainment can be surpassed next year.

El-A-Krew, Claudette Peters, Shermaine Jeremy, King Short Shirt, Might Swallow and Burning Flames held their own each night against the international mega stars, enthralling both locals and visitors with energetic and memorable performances.

‘King of Lover’s Rock’ Maxi Priest brought the ladies to tears as the crowd of approximately 7,000 screaming fans shoved and pushed to get closer to the legendary singer as he belted out classic hits such as ‘Wide World’, Just a Little Bit Longer’ and ‘Close to You’. He was joined onstage by his son Marvin Priest who added a Hip-Hop flavor to some of his dad’s tunes.

Brian McKnight also brought his two sons onstage to sing a-cappella before leading into the ballads that catapulted his career. As he crooned ‘Back at One’ fans sang along to the popular love song, waving cell phones and lighters to illuminate the venue.

Friday night belonged to Lionel Ritchie as the former Commodore belted out hit after hit sending fans into a frenzy of screaming, singing and dancing. From upbeat hits such as ‘Dancing on the ceiling’ and ‘Running with the night’ to true love songs which included ‘Ballerina Girl’, ‘My Love’, ‘Hello’ and ‘Endless Love’, Ritchie captivated the adoring and receptive audience.

Kenny Rogers showed no signs of slowing down at age 71, when he took the stage on Saturday night and mesmerized fans, young and old alike with timeless classics including ‘Through the years’ and ‘Lady’; a song written by Lionel Richie.

Musiq Soulchild and Keyshia Cole also gave memorable performances and had fans singing ‘word for word’ as they rendered some of their latest hits as well as some little known numbers.

Jamaican Reggae artistes Shaggy and Damian ‘Junior Gong’ Marley closed the three night event with fantastic performances which elicited thunderous applause and other enthusiastic responses from the crowd. Shaggy’s sexually implicit antics onstage created deafening rounds of squeals and cheers from his female fans as he sang his more famous hits including ‘Oh Carolina’, Boombastic’, ‘Church Heathen’ and ‘Wild Tonight’.

‘Junior Gong’s rendition of some of his father’s (Reggae icon Robert ‘Bob’ Marley) songs including ‘Exodus’ created an atmosphere of conscious vibes until he exploded with his faster paced songs. ‘Welcome to Jamrock’ and ‘Beautiful’ were clear crowd favorites as he was requested back on stage to continue his performance.

Long change-over times between acts and a few scattered showers over the three-day event did nothing to dampen audience spirit or enthusiasm.

Minister of Tourism and Aviation Hon. Harold Lovell told SKNVibes.com that although the numbers were “not exact” Friday’s and Saturday’s shows saw approximately 16,000 patrons.
He also said because the event was a first for Antigua, some “tweaking” needed to be done for future hosting of the annual event.

The Festival Committee is expected to unveil their artiste line-up for the 2009 Antigua Romantic Rhythms Music Festival in the “very near future” the Minister disclosed.

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