Roseau, Dominica — Patrons to this year’s World Creole Music Festival have the unique opportunity to purchase season tickets at the special price of EC$250 until the end of September, as the DFC, the producers of the event give back to loyal fans who have supported the event now in its 15th year. This year for the first time the festival can be seen online live streamed to your computer.
According to the DFC Events’ Director, Mrs. Natalie Clarke-Meade, this special offer is a way of giving back to loyal and dedicated supporters of Dominica and the Creole-speaking Caribbean premiere music celebrations.
“For us at the DFC we cherish our loyal and committed fans and feel obligated to give them something special in this 15th year of the festival.
For us, 15 years is a special milestone and therefore feel that we must work with our fans and those who have over those many years come out to support the festival. We want to once again assure patrons that we are working on bringing them a fantastic music festival, one that will never forget. And all this for the ridiculous price of EC$250 throughout the month of September”, the ED said.
She went on to state that in-spite of the challenges faced as a result of the world economic crisis and other challenges faced in staging such a major event, the DFC has maintained ticket prices to 2009 levels in order to ensure that patrons able to make the necessary sacrifices to support this major event.
Special ticket sales will continue at the DFC office, at the Festival Dwive at Krazy Koconut this Friday and the last Friday of September and through purchase by way of credit cards which can be done by contacting the DFC office. In addition, the DFC is offering special corporate prices for purchase of 50 or more tickets. Ticket prices will revert to the regular price of EC$325 during the month of October.
The World Creole music festival is a celebration of the music culture of Dominica and the Creole speaking world held each year at the end of October in Dominica. The headline sponsors for this year’s festival is the Government of Dominica and telecommunications giant Digicel.
Main acts for the 15th Dominica WCMF which will be held from Friday 28 to 30 October at the Windsor Park in Roseau, include Jean-Philippe Marthely and Jocelyn Beroard of kassav fame, Alie Campbell- legendary voice of UB-40, Jeff Joseph and his Grammacks/New Generation Band, Haitian bands- Carimi and Harmonik, Third World and Gyptian of Jamaica, Dominican bands- Midnight Groovers, Swinging Stars, WCK and Treple Kay, Bunji Garlin and Fay-Ann of T&, Dhobet Gnahore of Ivory Coast and zouk stars Fanny, Jocelyn Labyll and Alex Catrin along with upcoming Martiniquan singer, Kolo Barst.
Sour Sour is the most sort after entertainer in Dominica at this moment.
The “Yaw Yaw” one invaded NYC recently with a bag full of charisma and some jamming road march tunes.
Numusiczone caught up with the “cool pipe” one at the King of Kings Calypso show and now we want to share with you our highlights of his performance and our chat with him.
Rumor has it he was posted back to Dominica after business didn’t go as expected.
Craig Bellot and Felix Augustine of Numusiczone, Inc
The efforts to bring added visibility to Dominica and Caribbean music, has been given a much significant boost through the online music site, www.numusiczone.com.
Beginning, August 12th, from 8:30 pm, Caribvision will begin broadcasting 30 minute episodes depicting the life of musical artists from Dominica and the subregion.
Numusiczone, began creating these episodes about a year ago for use on its very popular website, in the hope that it would be picked up by the mainstream media houses in the Caribbean and North America.
Caribvision is viewed by over 1.5 million people in over 21 countries.
Executive Producer, Felix Augustine believes that the exposure generated from the episodes can only build and help generate renewed interest in the musical art-form of the Caribbean. Mr. Augustine is delighted that the executives at Caribvision have decided to give a voice to artists of the sub-region.
The episodes are hosted by Craig Bellot who created www.numusiczone.com. Mr. Bellot says, his vision of seeing Dominican and Caribbean talent in every home is closer to a reality with the Caribvision initiative.
Craig and Felix with Machel Montano.
Numusiczone was created as an outlet for all the musical acts coming from the Caribbean. Persons who believe they have a song to share with the outside world can simply go to www.numusiczone.com and upload their music and instantly find a worldwide audience. www.numusiczone.com, is also a major revenue earner for much of these artists, as in comparison to existing sites, they pay out the largest share of money earned back to the artists.
Numusiczone is appealing to Dominicans to support the shows when they begin airing. They are also appealing to Dominicans and other persons in the region to begin suggesting persons that they would love to see featured in these episodes. Persons can make the recommendations by sending a message to their Facebook fan page. A similar request is being made to the other islands as well.
With 10+ years of Soca, Reggae, Pop & Rock tunes under his belt, KES the band has been headlining Caribbean music festivals across the planet. Now with his monster hit ‘Wotless’, KES has aimed for the stars and no one can stop him. Watch our interview to meet the man behind the music.
Heston Francis left Dominica 25 years ago. This many years later, with a promising music career, Heston credits his early musical influences as his driving force. Warm Human is his latest album and has rocketed to the top of the European charts. Heston is looking forward to being back in Dominica sometime soon to showcase to his people the fruits of his labor. Heston’s music is NOW available @ www.numusiczone.com/Heston.
Seventeen year old singing sensation Stephanie Courtney is raising eyebrows in the singing fraternity with her powerful vocals. Numusiczone caught up with the young phenom, who is of Trinidadian parentage as she prepared to shoot a video dedicated to stopping bullying in schools. www.numusiczone.com is opposed to bullying in all its forms where ever it may exist, but particularly in the schools of the Caribbean. If you see something, say something to stop the trend.
Do you live for the wildest parties, real food, and the sexiest ladies in the Caribbean?
If yes then open your diaries and make a note of St. Vincent Carnival 2011 – or Vincy Mas 2K11 – which officially runs from June 24 to July 5 on the beautiful Caribbean island of St Vincent.
Here’s The Hottest Carnival in the Caribbean
Known as the “Hottest Carnival in the Caribbean”, St Vincent Carnival keeps getting better every year, and this year’s edition is promised to be much, much better than Vincy Mas 2010.
You absolutely cannot miss this rave if you consider yourself to be a lover of calypso and steel bands. Come and join in the fun, the street parties, the colours and the costumes – and learn a little about the culture of this gorgeous island. The weather is fantastic and so is the food and, best of all, the people are among the friendliest and most musical on earth, which all add up to a grand, once in a lifetime vacation – until you come back next year to experience the excitement and fun all over again. Go ahead and book your trip to Vincy Mas 2011 – you won’t regret your decision.
Must See Vincy Carnival Events
Vincy Mas 2011 Schedule and Calendar of Events (Click to enlarge)
Although the official launch of this spectacular carnival has passed, there is still much to see and enjoy at St Vincent’s carnival. The grand finale of Vincy Mas will be the J’Ouvert and Mardi Gras in July, but before then there are beauty contests like the Miss SVG and the Miss Carnival; and events such as the Junior Carnival, the Junior Pan Fest and the Junior Calypso/Soca. Try not to miss the Fire Fete, the Panorama (with much steel and glitter), the Soca Monarch and the Evening Street Party. All these celebrations end with the Band of the Year competition – the best prize of all – topped off with the Mardi Gras Parade of Bands with great music, dazzlingly colourful costumes, spectacular floats and non-stop dancing.
The Top Vincy Soca 2011 Songs
As a part of this Carnival, http://numusiczone.com will be selling all the Vincy soca you will hear, so you’ll be able to take home a bit of the excitement and keep the vibe going just a little longer.
Here are some of the popular songs for Vincy carnival 2011:
Skinny Fabulous
Skinny Fabulous 2011
Gamal Doyle is the unmistakeably energetic soca artiste from St. Vincent & the Grenadines, better known as Skinny Fabulous. This talented and versatile artist demonstrates his quick wit and the capacity to mesmerise the crowd while he is on stage. Always willing to push the boundaries of Caribbean music, Skinny Fabulous has a style that falls somewhere between soca and dancehall.
“I didn’t get into music , music got into me”. “Problem Child” James a.k.a Johnny Fontainne is from St. Vincent and currently resides in Brooklyn New York. From as early as he can remember music is all he’s ever really loved. The name came about from a New York vacation trip. He was called that because I’m troublesome and like things perfect. A lot of practical jokes on his friends adds to the meaning of his stage name.
Chutney Soca Star Rikki Jai is 2 Million Dollars Richer. The 6 time Chutney Soca Monarch of Trinidad & Tobago tells the secret to his abundant career in music and life. Watch this video to meet one of the most successful Caribbean artists.
Dominica and Castle Bruce native Sernel Florent is making a name for himself with his brand of upbeat gospel music. Sernel is currently touring the Caribbean with some of the top names in the business. Spreading the message of God is of paramount to this young Dominican singer. Get a copy of Sernels latest album at www.numusiczone.com/Sernel
As part of our mandate to you our clients, NMZ will do everything we can to promote your music, however there are many things that you can do to advance your music and maximize your earnings. Below are just a few of the many options.
Join a social network.
MySpace, Facebook and their likes act as one-stop band adverts where you can upload anything you want: photos, songs, video, text and more. Limit yourself to two or three social networks though – you don’t want to spread yourself too thinly.
Write an interesting biography.
An artist biog should be concise, informative and interesting. People (particularly venue staff) don’t want to know that your band was formed “in the first year of university or high school by songwriter Joe Bloggs and producer John Smith” – cut out the background and write something that’s a bit different. Write something that keeps your fans engaged.
Take great photos.
Top-notch imagery is crucial if you want to be noticed online. Try to present a uniform ‘look’ that fits with your music. There are plenty of aspiring photographers throughout the Caribbean who will be willing to take press or live photos of you and/or your band for little or no money. Take advantage of them!
Dedicate some time to your fans.
Replying to emails and friend requests can sometimes be a chore but try to avoid blanket “thanks for the add” messages. If you keep things personal you’re far more likely to be remembered and if your audience likes you, they’ll be predisposed to like your music. Make it a point of duty to go online at least once a day and update your page, put up a post and or write comments.
Do something to stand out from the crowd.
The sad truth is that the quality of your music won’t always be enough to get you noticed. Try doing a blog, a quiz, a gimmick – anything that will make your profile a bit different and interesting.
Email blasts.
Once you have a newsletter set up, you have to keep your audience entertained! This is where the email blast come in! After all, they want to know the scoop before the next guy does. Make sure you give them something on a regular basis. Monthly may be a bit too slow, while daily is overkill. Somewhere in the middle is a good way to start. Always remind your fans that your music can be purchased at www.numusiczone.com. It has to become part of your routine on stage.
Play live shows.
There’s no CD promotion quite like it. Don’t forget to make sure you remind your fans at every performance and every promotional opportunity where they can find your music. In this specific case, your page on Numusiczone.com has to become second nature. If someone really likes your show and you, they will gravitate to areas where your music is available.
Support your local live music scene by attending your fellow musicians’ gigs. Ask them for the opportunity to open a few of their shows and then return the favor. It’s a great way for both artists to expose their music to a new audience. Again use the opportunity to promote your music on numusiczone.com.
