experiencing St. Kitts lifestyle brand destination

COLLABORATION, A GREAT PROMOTIONAL WAY

By William Doyle-Marshall

Raquel Brown. Chief Executive Officer of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority welcomed visiting and local media representatives to the 19^th annual St. Kitts Music Festival which she described as “a fabulous event” for the country. Ms. Browne made it clear that St. Kitts and Nevis is not a sun, sea and sand destination but a “lifestyle” brand. “When I say lifestyle, I speak of where your passion is, your heart.”

   The country’s logo is ‘follow your heart’ and according to the Chief Tourism Spokesperson, it speaks to what you like to do and that’s what St. Kitts has to offer. If you want to come to a festival, you are here because you are here for the St. Kitts Music Festival. If you would like to experience culture, you will come in August to Culturama and participate in Nevis. If you want to experience what the mix of what, as a Kittitian and Nevisian people, we welcome other cultures,” Ms. Browne continued.

                                             CEO Raquel Browne

   Being at the 19^th annual St. Kitts Music Festival was essentially being in the midst of high energy. That did not confine itself only to the performance stage during the three-day extravaganza (June 25-27). At press conferences, touring some of the island’s tourist attractions or merely enjoying a delicious meal – breakfast, lunch or dinner – you got the impression that the people and government of St Kitts and Nevis truly want you in their midst.

    Experienced performers like Kerwin DuBois, Bounty Killer, Infamous, Rachel Price, Benjai, and Ricardo Drew, shared advice generously to young performers who want to explore the overall musical world. DuBois told participants at a press conference, from a visual point of view and a creative point of view as a writer and producer, music has transformed across the board.

   “Hip Hop no longer sounds the same even country music doesn’t sound the same and so on as different elements. Dance Hall and all has different elements to what it was before. We cannot stay in the same root scene of festival music,” the Trinidad and Tobago Soca star advised. He was concerned that everybody thinks that Soca music is a festival and carnival thing. “We are now worldwide, we now have a little genre on I-Tunes. So we are getting there gradually. We have to be able to fit into the changed, diverse sound of music now. We can no longer just think Soca, we have to think music, universal and that is what it is about,” DuBois added.

Infamous, addressing festival press conference

    Infamous, a son of the soil made his second festival appearance and confessed being super excited to be there. Addressing the youths of St. Kitts and Nevis and around the world, if you have to take yourself away from the environment to get where you want to go: because home will always be home and we all know that and home is where the heart is. But if you really want to make a positive impact on home, just do what you have to do, in a positive way.” He grew up in Cayon and he loves Cayon people and of course, he admitted his love for St. Kitts people.

   Music lovers and journalists alike questioned the trend of musical collaboration among Soca artists. Benjai says it is the chemistry between artistes; Ricardo Drue feels collaborations is a way to bridge a gap between two different islands.  EZ from Odyssey had just finished a collaboration for the St. Kitts Nevis Patriots playing in the Caribbean Premier League currently in progress contends collaboration broadens your scope and your audience.

   A whole range of cultural happenings are on the calendar for later this year. St. Kitts will host Latin Fiesta is in October and then Sugar Mas closes down the whole country for a week, from Christmas Eve straight through to the 2^nd of January. “We are people of culture, heritage and fun,” contends the Chief Executive Officer of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority.