Call me biased but I do think the performer billing for Tobago Jazz festival is the best of the region. Barbados' Jazz festival boasted Anita Baker, the upcoming St. Lucia Jazz festival in May headlines Natalie Cole and Al Jarreau while Tobago couped Diana Ross, Heather Headly, Mary J Blige, Gladys Knight and Elton John. Of course the bigger stars means bigger prices; compared to Barbados Jazz festival with prices ranging between $30.00 to $100.00US, St. Lucia Jazz at $40.00 to $70.00 US Tobago prices are not cheap! Tickets for Tobago are $90.00, $125.00 and $150.00US with even higher prices for the exclusive V.I.P. section.
So popular is the Tobago Jazz festival this year accommodation has been booked solid for months and both flights and ferry to the sister island are sold out, with some ingenious , and clearly wealthy, persons resorting to purchasing air fare to Tobago from Trinidad via Barbados! As for tickets to the show all V.I.P. tickets were finished weeks ago; this is truly one of the biggest events to be hosted in Tobago in recent history.
You would think, therefore , that the organisers of the event knowing that the Jazz festival is highly anticipated to be a success even amid controversy surrounding Elton John's performance with protests from Christian groups in Tobago and with higher ticket prices that patrons would be above and beyond satisfied. Well, it seems to me, and many persons attending the Jazz festival this year including my mother and her friends, that the promoters are milking the fact that they have star power by milking patrons!
The following advertisement appeared in the newspapers recently highlighting the "rules an regulations" for Tobago Jazz:
So popular is the Tobago Jazz festival this year accommodation has been booked solid for months and both flights and ferry to the sister island are sold out, with some ingenious , and clearly wealthy, persons resorting to purchasing air fare to Tobago from Trinidad via Barbados! As for tickets to the show all V.I.P. tickets were finished weeks ago; this is truly one of the biggest events to be hosted in Tobago in recent history.
You would think, therefore , that the organisers of the event knowing that the Jazz festival is highly anticipated to be a success even amid controversy surrounding Elton John's performance with protests from Christian groups in Tobago and with higher ticket prices that patrons would be above and beyond satisfied. Well, it seems to me, and many persons attending the Jazz festival this year including my mother and her friends, that the promoters are milking the fact that they have star power by milking patrons!
The following advertisement appeared in the newspapers recently highlighting the "rules an regulations" for Tobago Jazz:
Now I can understand the rules against filming the performance, I think it is a standard in concerts worldwide that patrons are not encouraged to film the artiste as usually some Television station pays for the rights to broadcast said event.But I cannot fathom why after paying close to $1000.00TT that ticket holders to the Jazz festival are not allowed to bring their own coolers OR their own chairs and will be forced to pay an additional fee of $20.00 to RENT chairs!
It seems to be a rule unique to Tobago Jazz as St Lucia Jazz festival has no ruling against bringing your own cooler or chairs to the event:
It seems to be a rule unique to Tobago Jazz as St Lucia Jazz festival has no ruling against bringing your own cooler or chairs to the event:
Rules of St. Lucia Jazz
Please note that the following rules are applicable to Pigeon Island National Landmark and the Mindoo Phillip Park.
1. No breakable bottles are allowed at all St. Lucia Jazz venues. All drinks in breakable bottles must be transferred to plastic bottles. All coolers will be searched.
2. Only coolers measuring 36" x 24" (3'x 2') or smaller will be permitted into the Pigeon Island National Landmark. Any cooler in excess of this size will not be permitted inside the grounds.
3. All drinks with stoppers must be properly disposed.
4. No smoking is allowed at the Pigeon Island National Landmark, except in the Benson & Hedges Smoking Area. Please note signage indicating area.
5. No unauthorized filming is permitted at all St. Lucia Jazz venues.
SOURCE: www.stluciajazz.org
Personally I will not be attending the Jazz Festival this year. Though the lineup is really good and the Saturday night would have been my night of choice, after deliberating on wether to go or not and finally deciding not to fight the crowds and mele in Tobago turns out is was a great decision as I will not be able to go this weekend after all, even if I wanted to. I do know quite a few people who are going and I have been listening to their grumbling over these new "rules" and have to agree that it is such a silly ruling over petty things such as chairs and coolers. The whole vibe of Jazz festival from the islands that have been hosting it for years is a really cool picnic in the park where you enjoy some great performers and a really good lime. And I do not like the fact that in spite of the high prices patrons will now have to fork over more money for basics like a seat and a cold drink.
Knowing Trinis, who sneaked alcohol into Cricket World Cup in ziploc bags and sunblock bottles, I know they will find a way to carry their drinks into the venue and not pay the inflated prices on the night of the show. But is really is a low blow by the promoters of Jazz festival to reveal these rules only weeks before the event and I hope all those who are going to Jazz boycott the chair rentals and set up a nice blanket on the grass to enjoy the show!
9 comments:
Hummmm...*digging , looking for blanket, packing blanket*
girl yuh better had :D
Don't forget to freeze the drinks in a zip loc bag too eh LOL
OK, they will find ways. If I was in Tobago, I still don't think I would attend the Jazz Fest. Unless I got "Comps" Ofcourse
bagogyul, you is a woman after my own heart. Comps indeed.
nolongerjammette, yuh betta find that blanket woman! :)
Girl I hear all dem people in Plymouth does pull up their chair outside the venue and make a lime to listen to the stars outside d gate LOL.. dat is the ting self ! Free drinks and free chairs .
Saucy the rules aren't new. The Friday night will set the tone. They did the same chair rental last year. But after the Friday night show, the chair ushers said that you could have brought your own chair for Sat & Sun.
socaholic is right. Plus I think we as patrons create our own drama. I know last year people would come in, get their ticket torn go out and give somebody else and get back in with "but u see me pass here already". There waws also an issue of people handing out their passes thru the fence. So I guess they trying their best to cover all losses
So it is a Peter pay for Paul situation? Still, I don't agree with the chair rentals and cooler rules it's just plain silly to me!
Uh, where is the Jazz in the Plymouth Jazz Festival? Apart from the headliners, I am unfamiliar with most of the names on the line up. Are they Jazz acts?
I am patently disappointed that Jazz music has been excised for the most part from Caribbean Jazz Festivals. I understand and appreciate that R&B acts are needed to attract the crowds, but in the final analysis, the goal should be to unwittingly introduce the crowd to the Jazz. That is not going to happen with the PJF, is it?
It seems to me that Clive Zander and company were forced to have their own "outfest" because they have been outed from the fest.
And by the way, you may want to look at the Tranquility Jazz Festival in Anguilla if you are looking for a genuine Caribbean Jazz Fest, St. Lucia Jazz be damned. To give SLJ some credit though, there is a slight move back to Jazz.
I spent the last weekend of St. Lucia Jazz 2006 at Pigeon and I could swear I was at a Pop/Rock retreat.
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