BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - DESPITE the fact that many people had expressed their dislike with the 14th Annual St. Kitts Music Festival’s lineup, patrons left the Warner Park Football Stadium held last night (Jun. 24) satisfied with the performance of the first night’s artistes.
First to take the stage was the Roots Reggae band Third World, which performed for over one hour. The band performed songs like ‘Roots A Roots’, ‘Champian Love’, ‘Love Train’ and ‘Now That We Found Love’, a song that seemed to be a big hit with the crowd.
Three-time Road March Champs Grand Masters Band was next. As the Master of Ceremonies called on the band’s members to take the stage, the crowd surged closer to the stage; some with rags and flags ready to jump and get on ‘bad’.
The band was onstage for only 15 minutes but pepped up the crowd from the very start of its performance to the end. ‘Ring Back Pon It’, ‘Sold Out’, ‘Jump Up Like Is You Last’, ‘Beg and Bawl’ and ‘Buss You Bubble’ were some of the songs with which the band dominated the crowd, as patrons jumped, waved and gyrated on the football field.
When it was time for the band to leave the stage, many persons were upset saying, “They just come on” and “We want more Grand Masters”.
King Starsheild was next on the lineup, and he came out with matching attire singing ‘The Good Shepherd’. Backed by the Grand Masters Band, Starshield sang a few other songs including ‘Save Our Nations Pride’ and ‘Hip Hip Hooray’, which was the crowd’s favorite as they sang along and danced. On leaving the stage, there were loud chants of “Starsheild, Starsheild, Starsheild”.
The seven-time Road March Champ and 10-time Calypso King then took the stage and performed acapella throughout his entire performance, as he had no band to back up his performance. However, the crowd seemed to have loved every song as they sang along to his ‘Sugar City Jamming’, ‘I Love St. Kitts’ and ‘In You Maccazema’.
The park was then turned ‘upside down’ by Bungi Garlin and his wife Faye-Ann Lyons, backed by their Asylum Band. They had the crowd jumping and running from side to side of the Park and parting crowds.
They gave a high-energy performance that was loved by the huge crowd, as patrons kept begging for more from the two Trinidadian Soca warriors. One elderly lady said they were the best on stage all night and a young man nodded in agreement.
A young lady said that is what she had been waiting for all night. “Some real jumping and waving… that’s what the Thursday night is about,” she exclaimed, adding, “Not no standing up.”
The couple performed and entertained the patrons with ‘Heavy-T Bumper’, ‘Banana’, ‘Dance Must Have’, ‘Start Wining’, ‘Party Animal’, ‘Blaze De Fire’ and ‘Carnival Time’.
Capleton, the artiste who is known as the Prophet or the Fire Man, was the final act of the night. And he brought nothing but fire, as he always say in his famous phrase…“More Fire”.
Capleton had two encores, as many people in the crowd said it was too early for him to leave the stage. He came onstage singing 'Small World' and continued his performance with a number of his past hits, including ‘Jah Jah City', ‘Slu Dem’, ‘Look Good Chart’, ‘Bugary’ and ‘Raggy Road’.
The show ended sometime after 3:00 a.m. and the feedback from the crowd was a good one.
The festival continues tonight with Fethi Tabet, Kymani Marley, Jah Fire, SMI, followed by US rapper Fabolous and Tarrus Riley, in that order.
