Bequia Mount Gay Music Fest 2013: ‘The Best Ever!’

Minister of Tourism, Sport and Culture, Cecil McKie enjoyed a full weekend of musical entertainment when he visited Bequia for the Bequia Tourism Association’s 10th anniversary Bequia Mount Gay Music Fest, Friday, 25th January.{{more}}

Speaking at the start of the Friday night event, before the Mustique Blues Festival took to the stage, the Minister expressed his pleasure at being present at the event for the first time, and welcomed visitors, yachtsmen and all attendees to the Bequia Music Fest – one of the many festivals that St Vincent has to offer. After attending all the weekend’s day and night-time events, the Minister gave thanks to the Bequia Tourism Association for a job well done. Conceived by the BTA thirteen years ago to create a much-needed boost to the tourism economy between Christmas and Easter, the not-for-profit Bequia Music Fest was acknowledged by the minister as being now well established as a highly significant event in the tourism calender.

This year’s event kicked off Thursday 24th at the Frangipani Hotel, when a record crowd of visitors, yachtsmen and Bequia residents thronged the open air waterfront bar to hear and be amazed by the outstanding young talent of the 13- piece Elite Steel Orchestra from St Vincent.

And that was just the beginning of what proved to be an extraordinary weekend of musical entertainment. The tiny Grenadine island of Bequia began filling up with visitors in the days before the event, with a record 200 or more yachts crowding the harbour in Admiralty Bay.

Many who came had planned their visit around the Music Fest – flying in from near and far to be in Bequia for this now world-famous event. With the legendary Spice & Co from Barbados slated to appear in St Vincent and the Grenadines for the first time ever, and the award-winning NexCyx billed as the other headline act, flights from all over the region were booked up far in advance. Decades-long fans of Spice & Co reacted with joy at the prospect of seeing the band again and arrived in Bequia both by sea and air for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Others had picked up on the buzz through word of mouth and the internet and were eager to find out for themselves if the event would live up to the hype; still more were simply on vacation, and found themselves caught up in the excitement and the variety that was on offer. Hundreds came from St Vincent for the weekend, eagerly anticipating what some said afterwards was one of the best productions they had ever attended.

Friday night belonged to the Mustique Blues Festival, with record crowds turning out to see the legendary Dana Gillespie perform with her London Blues Band and guests. Basil Charles introduced the electrifying evening, which included guest performances by Italian percussionist and ukulele player Veronica Sbergia, pianist Matthew Gest, guitarist Todd Sharpville, drummers Darby Todd and Jamie Little, Grammy-winning Blues maestro Joe Louis Walker, and, fresh from her recent appearance at the White House, the extraordinary “Queen of the Blues” Shemekia Copeland. With Jake Zaitz on guitar, Jeff Walker on bass and Mike Paice on sax and harmonica, Dana Gillespie and her band and guests gave truly sensational performances, leaving the audience hungry for more. Basil Charles’ Mustique Blues musicians graciously volunteered their performance in Bequia in exchange for a generous contribution by the event organisers to the Basil Charles Education Foundation.

Music Fest gold sponsor the Bequia Beach Hotel in Friendship provided the perfect venue on Saturday afternoon for a relaxing Jazz ‘n’ Blues Jam by the beach. Impromptu performances by a wide group of local and visiting musicians included Music Fest co-founder Louis O’Neil on piano and Jan Smith on sax, visiting saxophonist Augustin ‘Jab’ Duplessis, vocalist Melissa Yearwood, trumpeter Jim Coleman, the Bequia Blues Band, “Stan and Cora” on piano and sax with Wry Worry on guitar and guest drummer Scott Mills from the USA, “Patches” Knights on piano, Thomas Richards on bass, “Flour” Haddaway on drums and Bequia balladeer Socony. Also on stage that afternoon, and for the first time in Bequia, was the mesmerizingly talented young jazz act from Barbados Nj3O, who amazed the crowd with their smooth performance. With no admission charge and the perfect setting to draw the crowds, over nine hundred people gathered in the hotel gardens by the beach to eat, drink and enjoy the music.

Down at De Reef, the 1100-plus crowd on Saturday night enjoyed a perfect evening, with the option to lime outside under the stars and watch the action on the 20ft live feed screen, or get up close to the stage in the packed nightclub atmosphere created inside the venue. After a much-praised opening set on Saturday night from Bequia’s latest band Infinity, it was the turn of Music Fest favourite Toby Armstrong and his band to take to the stage. Armstrong won ever more fans with his extraordinary guitar performance, as did award-winning pan virtuoso Ziggy Walcott, brilliant young saxophonist Joseph Callender, drummer Dwight Callender Jr and bassist Marius Charlemagne. Joining them on stage for a 10th anniversary Mount Gay Blues Band re-union was Garvie Griffith on vocals and acoustic guitar, vocalist Jomo Lord, guitarist Scott Zimmerman and Kirk Redman on drums.

Then it was the turn of Spice & Co. The venue was packed, the atmosphere was hot, and what a show it was! “I’ve waited 20 years for this!” said one ecstatic visitor. “I never thought I’d see them again, and when I heard they were playing in Bequia I couldn’t believe it!” “I sailed all the way up from Grenada just to be here – and man, they were SENSATIONAL!” said another. Alan Sheppard, Dean Straker and Roger Foster had the crowd on their feet “bumping and wining” from the opening bars of “Rasta Man”, “De Congaline” and more – the songs just kept on coming. On stage for over 90 minutes, Spice & Co – with James Lovell on drums, Andre Clarke on keyboard, vocalists Tamara Marshall and Jan Keiser, and saxophonist Kelly Patrick –gave a truly stellar performance that Bequia will never forget!

But there was yet more to come with the last act of the night. Bequia took NexCyx to their hearts three years ago, and have followed their fortunes ever since, so it’s not surprising the house went wild with their electrifying performance of numbers old and new, bringing the excitement to fever pitch till after 2 a.m. Lead singer Mahalia Phillips had fans screaming for more from both her and co-vocalist Rochelle Griffith, with Kris Clarke, Russell Padmore, Andre Clarke and Chadd Ifill pumping up the pressure on bass, lead guitar, keyboard and drums, and Andre Forde guesting on pan. These brilliant young stars are no longer rising – they are firmly up there with the very best!

Sunday afternoon at De Reef in Lower Bay saw a relaxed and varied crowd enjoy the closing day with great performances by Bequia’s Country Relatives, the Denzil Bacchus Blues Band from St Vincent, with guest appearances by 10-year-old Vincentian pannist Sayeed Bowman, Jab Duplessis and Melissa Yearwood, Jan and Louis with friends Jim Coleman, Patches Knights and Jackie Baptiste, and Bob Berlinghof’s Bequia Blues Band, with Uthan McIntosh, Ray Leslie and Jackie Baptiste and guest drummer Stephen Hart.

As the sun went down, Nj3O took to the stage again for a few more numbers. Marius Charlemagne (bass), Joseph Callender (sax), Kerry Mason (keyboard) and drummer Rashad Hinds once again wowed the crowd with their jazzy, up-tempo renditions. “Of the whole weekend – that was MY Band!” said Coco Simmons, owner of Coco’s Place in Bequia.

As Toby Armstrong joined them on stage for one last time, the scene was being set for the Mount Gay Surprise finale – and who better to close out the Bequia Music Fest that the band that Bequia loves so much – NexCyx! This time though, it was NexCyx 2.0 – to the delight of the crowd, Alan Sheppard from Spice & Co joined the band on stage for a final, NexCyx-style megawatt set. A truly fitting climax to a fabulous weekend!

The visiting musicians were quick to offer their appreciation for the overall smooth running of the event, the hospitality – starting with the reception at Arnos Vale airport by a representative of the SVG Tourism Authority – and the unique relaxed and intimate atmosphere for which the Bequia Music Fest is famous. “Everything went like clockwork this year”, said Music Fest Director Wilfred Dederer, “…and I’m so pleased that all the hard work which went into the planning paid off. It takes good teamwork to make an event like this happen, and the Bequia Tourism Association and their volunteers, De Reef and their staff, and of course all our sponsors are very much part of that team”.

Bequia Mount Gay Music Fest organisers wish to thank headline sponsor Mount Gay Rum (Barbados), and major sponsors SVG Ministry of Tourism/SVG Tourism Authority, LIAT, Bequia Beach Hotel, Hairoun Beer, Karib Cable, LIME St Vincent, Air Adelphi, Frangipani Hotel, De Reef, CRS Music & Media, (Barbados), L’Auberge des Grenadines and Quik-Print (St Vincent).

The Bequia Mount Gay Music Fest is also generously supported by Basil’s Bar Mustique, Nice Radio, Ezee Radio, SVGBC, Keegan’s Beach Resort, Mango’s Bar and Grill, Mac’s Pizzeria, Vintages Bequia, Doris’ Fresh Food, WAG Service Station, Nichols’ Garage, Julie’s Guest House, Bequia Express, Compass Publishing and Outhouse Graphics. Thanks too to all the musicians, who made the 2013 Bequia Mount Gay Music Fest an event which will be remembered for years to come.

Visit www.begos.com/bequiamusicfest or facebook.com/bequiamusicfest

A slide show for the 2013 event will be uploaded shortly.