CASTRIES, St. Lucia: St. Lucia is choc-a-bloc for this weekend's 17th Annual St. Lucia Jazz festival, one of the Caribbean's premier musical attractions, produced by BET Event Productions and promoted on top cable networks BET and BET J. St. Lucia's 10-day jazz celebration focuses on the straight jazz category. read more...

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GEORGETOWN, Guyana (GINA): Guyana's Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport has acquired 32 pieces of steel pan from Trinidad and Tobago, which will be used to revive the local steel band industry. Minister of Culture Youth and Sport Dr Frank Anthony said the pans will be used for the upcoming Independence celebrations. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (ACN): The Cuban music band Klimax is in St Lucia for the 17th Jazz Festival held every year in the Caribbean island. Until May 11, the Cuban group will be sharing the stage with renowned jazz artists such as Michael Bolton, Jonathan Butler, and Anita Baker. read more...

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GEORGETOWN, Guyana: The state television and radio, National Communications Network (NCN), has now placed a ban on the music of Jamaican artistes Movado and Bounty Killer, who were both banned from performing in Guyana last week by the government. read more...

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GEORGETOWN, Guyana: The Guyana government has placed two Jamaican artistes on a blacklist, saying that their music incites crime and violence. Guyana’s Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee told reporters on Monday that Movado and Bounty Killer will no longer be allowed to perform in Guyana. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica: Over the Memorial Day Weekend, May 23-25 a three-day festival of readings and live music will be held at Jake’s in Treasure Beach, Jamaica. Nobel Prize winning poet, St Lucian, Derek Walcott will appear at Calabash 2008 and said he is delighted and very happy to be coming to Calabash. read more...

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GEORGETOWN, Guyana: Trinidad and Tobago, which is home to the famous steel pan, intends to amaze the CARIFESTA X audience during the August festival in Guyana by showcasing some of its newest pan instruments. The twin island Republic will be represented by a 300-member troupe. read more...

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GRAND TURK, Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI-GIS): The fifth annual Turks and Caicos Music and Cultural Festival (TCMCF), is set to take place July 28 through August 4, will bring the some of the world's most popular artistes to the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). The annual Festival will electrify residents and visitors. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters): Cuba will air the award winning US television drama the Sopranos and ongoing series Grey's Anatomy beginning this week, the Communist youth newspaper, Juventud Rebelde, said on Sunday. HBO's The Sopranos depicts the life of a New Jersey Mafia boss and his family. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (ACN): Great Britain has been the first leg of a new European Tour begun last Monday by The Cuban band Buena Vista Social Club (BVSC), which delighted the European audience a decade ago with traditional Cuban tunes played by musicians that first became stars in the 1950s. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA: The 17th Annual St Lucia Jazz festival, one of the Caribbean's premier musical attractions, set for May 2 to 11, has already started its countdown on top cable networks BET and BET J. The 2008 St. Lucia Jazz Preview Show is currently spotlighted on BET J's popular "Island Lime" Saturday format. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA (Reuters): For most Jamaican dancehall artists, securing a successful rapper on a song's remix is a hard-won seal of approval. So when Jay-Z, who has never recorded on a reggae track, rhymed on a remix of singer Mavado's current hit "On the Rock," it became arguably the greatest endorsement. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters): Its oldest stars died after a late burst of international fame, but the show goes on for Cuba's trademark Buena Vista Social Club band as it taps new blood to keep touring. The 13-piece band travels to Britain next week to perform 32 concerts from London to Liverpool and Edinburgh. read more...

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GEORGETOWN, Guyana (GINA): Haiti, the most recent member of CARICOM plans to stage another significant performance in the Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA) X by showcasing its unique and astonishing culture. Haiti’s participation in CARIFESTA dates back to the first festival in 1972 in Guyana. read more...

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Maria Jackson's recent article has dealt with a subject that takes courage and one that should have be addressed by the Caribbean community. One reader noted that Jamaica has a sickness. That may be true as far as killings go. However, that sickness is not endemic in reggae or reggae performances. read more...

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I am a bit reluctant to write this article because I am aware that composing it will bring a lot of things to light that some would like to see kept in the dark. However, I have been quietly watching Jamaican artistes being denied their right to freedom of speech as well as being robbed publicly for a while. read more...

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MIAMI, USA (AFP): Legendary Cuban musician Israel Lopez, known to the world as Cachao and credited with being one of the originators of the mambo musical style, died on Saturday in Miami, his spokesman announced. He was 89. A gifted bassist and an innovative composer, Cachao was born in Havana in 1918. read more...

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Is reggae music the only genre that releases hundreds of singles on a daily basis? I honestly do not know. But what I do know is that the way we handle our business in the reggae industry is affecting its monetary value.  Jamaica releases approximately 600 new songs daily. There are literally hundreds of producers. read more...

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ST GEORGE'S, Grenada: The DMJ Creative Foundation for the Performing Arts continues its series of Grenada Co-operative Bank Junior Calypso Workshops, which are geared toward improving the writing skills of young people, while increasing their knowledge and interest in a most important indigenous artform. read more...

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CASTRIES, St. Lucia: Grammy Award winning American balladeer Michael Bolton as well as soft rock duo Air Supply have joined the line-up for the 2008 edition of St. Lucia Jazz set to celebrate its 17th anniversary from May 2 to 11 in the Caribbean this year. The bookings completed the selection of headliners. read more...

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OLVESTON, Montserrat: Every year St Patrick’s Day, March 17, is celebrated as a public holiday in Montserrat, and the celebrations expand into a week, with a host of cultural and other activities. The reason for this celebration goes back into history. Some of the first European settlers and colonisers were Irish Catholics. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA (Reuters): Rita Marley is executive producing the first-ever biopic of her late husband Bob Marley, and if she has it her way, the reggae icon's daughter-in-law R&B singer Lauryn Hill will portray her onscreen.The Weinstein Co. will produce a big-screen version of her 2004 autobiography. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA: St. Lucia's first annual music awards may discover the next hot Caribbean musician to make international headlines at its inaugural event this weekend. BET J, a part of BET Digital Networks and a subsidiary of Viacom, Inc., has invited top American record label executives to evaluate the talent, read more...

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SCARBOROUGH, Tobago: The “clean, green and serene” island of Tobago, which boasts lush rainforests, friendly locals and never-ending beaches, is scheduled to host two of the liveliest music fests in the Caribbean - The Plymouth Jazz Festival and Pan Jazz “in de Yard” 2008. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA: BET J will air a 30 minute tribute this weekend for GRAMMY-winning international singing sensation Rihanna, who is from the Caribbean island of Barbados. Partnering with the Barbados Tourism Authority, BET J will premiere the InVideo special on Saturday, February 16 at 2:30 p.m read more...

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CASTRIES, St Lucia: St. Lucia Jazz 2008 is set to be bigger and better than ever before when this paradise island opens its arms to an elite line-up of international stars for the best party in the Caribbean. The festival, held every year in May (2nd - 11th), is the island’s most prestigious and successful event. read more...

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BASSETERRE, St Kitts: The St. Kitts Music Festival Committee is continuously exploring ways to boost private sector involvement and fan experience. Unoma Allen believes that the addition of two new attractions can achieve both. The first idea is the introduction of a secondary stage. read more...

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SCARBOROUGH, Tobago: The line-up for the fourth Tobago Jazz Festival, to be held in April 2008 was announced on Tuesday. This year’s confirmed artistes come from a range of musical backgrounds to suit all tastes, including soul, swing, pop, and jazz. The headline acts include the delightful Diana Ross. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters): "King of the Congas" Tata Guines, Cuba's most famous percussionist who shared the stage with Josephine Baker and Frank Sinatra half a century ago, died on Monday in Havana. He was 77. Cuban state media reported that Guines died of a kidney infection. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS): February was officially declared as Reggae Month by Jamaica's Governor-General, Professor Sir Kenneth Hall, at a ceremony held last week. Sir Kenneth read the formal proclamation, which will also provide for the annual celebration of the music genre, for which Jamaica is known around the world. read more...

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