Basseterre, St. Kitts (November 10, 2015) — Nevisian businessman Mr Tim Caines is a man with a financially melodic mission. He wants local artistes to have more money in their pockets for their efforts, and the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis is rallying behind him to ensure that his dream comes to fruition.
Through his company, Tim Caines & Associates of Main Street Charlestown, Mr Caines has successfully made arrangements to hold the first Oualie Fest which is a three-day, four-event extravaganza that will be held during the Thanksgiving Weekend, November 27-29.
The fest will be an annual affair and hence the dubbing of this year’s event, Oualie Fest 2015.
The first night Friday November 27 will feature Oualie Fest Just for Laughs Kaiso Show that will be held at 9:00 p.m. at the Grell-Hull Netball Complex. The second day (Saturday November 28) it will be the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis Oualie Fest Music Concert starting at 9:00 p.m., also at the Grell-Hull Stevens Netball Complex.
The final day, Sunday November 29, will feature Hot Rods and Beach Bodies Car Show Link Up to be held at Pinney’s Park starting at 1:00 p.m., and later that evening will feature Oualie Fest Body Physique and Body Fitness Competition which will be held from 6:00 p.m. at the Nevis Performing Arts Centre (NEPAC).
“The Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis Oualie Fest Music Concert is designed to develop and promote local music,” explained Mr Caines. “Primarily for this one it is the reggae dancehall and the soca. It will be an eight-act show whose line-up includes the Grammy Award-nominated International Dancehall Superstar Jamaican Baby Cham.”
Baby Cham, whose real name is Damian Beckett, will be the only foreign artiste. The others are local talents drawn from Nevis and also St. Kitts. The local acts are, Mr Bagnal, Hi-Light, Delly Ranks, Michael Morton, Odisi and Grandmasters Bands, X-Ray, and V.I.R.A.L. Band.
“Baby Cham is a real performer; he is one of the guys that actually performs when he is on stage and entertains rather than coming and singing a song,” explained Mr Caines. “He tours the US and Europe. So that is a good example if you will, that our own local talents can look to, to emulate. That is the reason why he was chosen for this initial staging of the concert.”
He further noted that Oualie Fest is designed to promote and develop the local talent in today’s music industry as it has been established that most of the artistes make their money from performances, whether it is on a tour or if they are hired to do a show. According to Mr Caines, that is what is lacking in the country as the local artistes do not get that kind of exposure in terms of being on a stage and entertaining a crowd.
“Most of the times they sell a CD with a label and you might make ten cents for each CD that is sold,” noted Mr Caines. “So now to make any real gains, an artiste has to sell millions and millions of CDs but when you go and perform at a show you have an opportunity for greater incomes more quickly.
“That is what we are trying to develop, and because of that concept, we are having just one overseas artiste in the form of Baby Cham. Thanksgiving Weekend was chosen because it is when hotels are packed in Nevis and we have a lot of tourists at that time for that weekend and they complain that there is nothing to do. So this is a good time for us to get them exposed to our music and our musicians.”
Mr Caines approached the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis for sponsorship of any of the four events. According the Manager for Human Resource, Marketing and Product Development Ms Danienne Brin, the institution has a mandate to develop the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. The fact that Oualie Fest aims at the development of local artistes, the bank agreed to sponsor the Oualie Fest Music Concert.
“Development comes in many facets,” said Ms Brin. “We share Mr Caines’ notion that our local artistes need to be more exposed as this will bring development not only to their personal careers, but also the country as whole. If the artistes are able to make a decent and gainful life through their music careers, it is the development the country needs now.”
As for the Oualie Fest Just for Laughs Kaiso Show, there will be one foreign act, Master Funny of Trinidad. The locals acts include King Astro, Bahowlah (Tyrone O’Flaherty), Fantastic Tunda, Flamingo, Lord Cut, King Hollywood, Pupa Wheeler, Baker, Daddy Nature, and others. The Body Physique and Body Fitness Competition will feature both males and females.
“Oualie Fest will be the first of its kind,” said Mr Caines. “But then we are hoping that it will grow, and this is intended to be an annual event around the same time of the year, on the Thanksgiving Weekend. It has generated quite a buzz already – we are just going to give it a heavier promotion and so we are expecting some good turn out to these events.”