Your Ultimate Guide To Barbados

Barbados Jazz Festival

In the month of January, the soothing, yet rhythmic sounds of jazz grace the air for all to be a part of. The island becomes exposed to the talents of a number of local and international musicians who are just too good to be true.

First debuting in 1993, the Barbados Jazz festival attracts visitors to the shores of Barbados who see it as having impeccable timing based on the fact that there is a desire for warm weather on their parts at this time of year. The festival has played a major role in the cultural and economic aspects of the island.

The chock-a-block festival lasts for one (1) week and is hosted at leading venues across Barbados such as The Sir Garfield Sobers Complex, The Crane Beach Hotel, Sunbury Plantation House and FourSquare Rum Factory & Heritage Park. The weekend aspect of the Barbados Jazz festival comes off at the Farley Hill National Park where the setting is more of a picnic oriented atmosphere.

The Barbados Jazz Festival has seen some rather impressive international acts such as Dionne Warwick, Anita Baker, Angie Stone, Robin Thicke, Smokey Robinson, Babyface and Warren Hill to name a few. Local musicians come out in their best and so patrons are exposed to the likes of Dwane Husbands, Arturo Tappin, Toni Norville and Marisa Lindsay to name a few.

Unfortunately, in 2011, the organisers of the Barbados Jazz festival (GMR International Tours, Inc.) announced that they were not in a position to host the festival but gave hope of it's return in the coming year.

In an effort to fill the gap associated with the cancellation of the 2011 Barbados Jazz festival, organisers came together swiftly to give birth to Jazz'n Barbados. With just two (2) weeks to pull off this event, the production team of Limelite Inc. were able to successfully pull out all the stops to bring Barbados a series of jazz events that were held from January 12 - 16. The likes of Tamara Marshall, Arturo Tappin, Dave Marcellin, his band and Rosemary Phillips were among the performing acts for the season.

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