Rocking Away With The Greats!

The St. Lucia Jazz Festival 2010 ended with quite a bang on Sunday. TJJ landed in gorgeous St. Lucia to be greeted with hurricane type rain, but we definitely had faith that we would bring the sunshine! Friday night, our hopes were a substantially crushed as the inclement weather literally put a damper on the event (view Friday's coverage). To recap, Kasaav who were set to perform on Thursday night, had to be postponed until Friday, sharing the stage with the genuinely talented Amy Winehouse. Those two major headliners really promised to be a fantastic show, but due to terrible hurricane like weather, we were unable to document the night in full TJJ style for you guys. A special thanks to Andrea of Silva Image for her sharing some of her great photos. But enough about that ... SUNDAY!!!!

Sunday (as always) was THE event of the festival, with major icons like Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan (aka the QUEEN of Funk Soul), and one of the most popular rock bands of all time Chicago. Patti bellowed out her hits, Chaka grooved with us and Chicago just took us waaaay back with some serious feel good songs. Our optimism and faith paid off as Sunday's weather was fantastic! Everyone from the baby boomer generation straight down to Generation Y were jammin' and definitely feeling the vibes. The infamous Chaka Khan's "Through the Fire", "Ain't Nobody" and "I'm Every Woman" were on key and fabulous!!! Patti LaBelle as usual was phenomenal and the eagerly anticipated performance by Chicago was brilliant.

Photos by Andre CQ & Shakéela B.
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As the night settled in, reggae star Beres Hammond took the stage. Now folks, "Uncle Beres" (as we like to call him in Barbados) captivated us with his performance. He sang hit after hit, and not a lifeless body was seen in the crowd! Everyone was singing, swaying and completely mesmerized with his feel good vibes. Uncle Beres serenaded us with track after track from "Sweet Lies" and "No Disturb Sign" right down to "Rockaway". Fantastic, fantastic performance!!! If you were stressed out on Sunday, St. Lucia Jazz was definitely the place you should have been. The music just touched your soul and left you feeling serene and carefree.

As usual, the St. Lucia Jazz Festival lived up to its promise of being the best jazz festival in the Caribbean! Fantastic production! Excellent headliners! Beautiful Island and equally beautiful people! If you've never been, St. Lucia is the place to be in May each and every year. Mark your calendars ... TJJ and YOU in St. Lucia for 2010!!

Shakéela B. ~Bajan Cherry~

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St. Lucia Jazz Festival 2009