Big names wow at the biggest Plymouth Jazz Festival yet
Trinidad & Tobago, Monday April 28th, 2008 – International and local acts delivered stellar performances in a sold out weekend at the annual Plymouth Jazz Festival in Tobago.
Whitney Houston at the Plymouth Jazz Festival in Tobago (photo by Jodie Rochemont)
The Friday night lineup included performances by Kes the Band, James Ingram, Pebo Bryson, Diana Ross and Smokey Robinson. James was on the third stop of his international tour in celebration of Quincy Jones' birthday. Diana Ross, a veteran in the business, maintained her "wow" appeal throughout the show and Motown legend Smokey Robinson (who was then, and is still now the most prolific songwriter that Motown Records has ever known, with over 4000 songs under his belt) performed many of his songs that weren’t actually recorded by him, but were made popular by artists such as Stevie Wonder. Local artists, Kes the Band closed the show with a high energy and high caliber performance, showing off their versatility by including several genres in their musical repertoire - the most surprising of which was 80's rock classic Bohemian Rhapsody (by Queen).
Saturday nights show included performances by Roy Cape All Stars, Steel Pulse, En Vogue and Columbian sensation, Shakira. Reggae legends, Steel Pulse, carried the crowd down memory lane with their concious lyrics about a different political time - although in many ways they are still very relevant today. En Vogue, pop superstars of the 90's who had taken a break from their high profile careers to focus on their families, reclaimed the stage with the same presence that they had over 10 years ago. This was the first appearance in En Vogue's 2008 tour. Shakira took the stage for the final performance of the night and remained poised even through some technical difficulties, modifying her performance on the fly so that the delay was barely noticeable. When the lights were back up, she broke into the much anticipated “Hips Don't Lie” that she has become famous for.
On Sunday, local Tobagonian volcalist Princess Adana started the evening off performing several popular songs from the 80s and 90s including "Holiday" (by Madonna). Adana was quite energetic and had many people from the VIP section near the stage on their feet dancing for most of her showing. Keep your eyes and ears open for this 20 year old, up and coming artiste. Headliners included Whitney Houston and Rod Stewart who crowd out of their seats. Local T&T band Imij & Co. closed the festival with a myriad of hits from the 70’s to present.
The sold out festival was described by organizers as the best Jazzfest so far. It will be interesting to see who will be performing next year.
More photos are available at
toronto-lime.com/pictures/fetes/2008/080427_tobago_jazz_fest
