By: Maco Caribbean Living

Wednesday February 24,

For the second installment of the Tobago Jazz Experience, Grammy award-winning R&B divas Chaka Khan and Erykah Badu will be the headline performers for the four day music festival taking place Thursday, 22 April – Sunday, 25 April, 2010.

Tobago is no stranger to having celebrities grace its shores, and Chaka Khan and Ms. Badu will walk the path of a long list of musical icons such as Stevie Wonder, Sir Elton John, Sting, Diana Ross and George Benson who have all visited the popular tourism destination in recent times for unforgettable musical performances.

The festivities begin on Thursday, 22nd April with Jazz on de Waterfront (Milford Road Esplanade) at 4.30 p.m. This event will feature local musical acts and is free to the public.

On Friday, 23rd April the activity will move to the Pigeon Point Heritage Park for World Music Night featuring special guests Shurwayne Winchester and the big band YOU, Lord Nelson, 3 Canal, Mavis John, Dil-E-Nadan, Ziggy Rankin, Fire Empress and Erica Abi Wright known to the world as Erykah Badu. Tickets for this show cost TT$300. This event will begin at 7.30 p.m.

Saturday, 24th April is an all-day music event that starts from 5 am with Street Beat in Plymouth. This activity involves a cultural procession and street theatre through the village streets. After that it’s off to Mt. Irvine Bay for some Caribbean Jazz rhythms at Jazz on de Beach. At 5 pm, the Jazz in de East caravan will roll into the picturesque village of Speyside and offer a mix of musical entertainment on the Beach Facility grounds. These shows are all free to the public. In the evening, lovers of jazz and the steelpan will be given another opportunity to enjoy themselves at the Pigeon Point Heritage Park at the Pan Jazz in de Park from 5 pm. Patrons will be able to experience the exhilarating sounds of our national instrument from WITCO Desperados and Phase II Pan Groove steel orchestras from Trinidad, led by maestros, Robert Greenidge and Len “Boogsie” Sharpe respectively, as well as the 2010 medium-band Panorama Champions, Steel Xplosion from Tobago. They will be joined by other bands from Tobago. Tickets for the Pan Jazz in de Park event will cost TT$200.

The experience will climax at the Beach Jazz Fiesta on Sunday, 25th April 2010. This event will feature acts such as Élan Parlé, the Alternative Quartet, the Sean Thomas Quartet, Clive Zanda, Digicel Rising Star Champion, Kay Alleyne, Kariwak Players, Ettienne Charles and the Queen of Funk Soul herself, Chaka Khan. Tickets for this show cost TT$300.

The Tobago Jazz Experience 2010 is presented by the Tobago House of Assembly’s Division of Tourism and Transportation in association with Mt. Irvine Bay Hotel, Pan Trinbago, and the Plymouth/Bethesda Community. In only its second year, this event has already garnered a sizeable following based on the scintillating performances of Jazz guitarist/vocalist, George Benson in 2009.

Tickets for all shows will go on sale on Monday, 29th March 2010. Trinidad ticket outlets: Cleves, Crosbys-North and South, Sanch Electronics and Stetchers nationwide. Tobago ticket outlets: all Penny Savers Supermarkets (Scarborough, Carnbee, Canaan).

For additional information on TOBAGO JAZZ EXPERIENCE 2010, visit www.visittobago.gov.tt, email contact@visittobago.gov.tt or call 868-639-2125.  

By MACO Caribbean