Heineken takes Jazz & Arts to the West

Another event supported by Heineken turned out to be a major success and one of the highlights of a weekend filled with great music and art here. This was all part of the Saint Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival, which is now underway, with events touching various parts of the island.

West Coast Jazz was held on Sunday, May 5 at the picturesque Plantation Bar from 3 pm. Nestled in the hills above the Roseau Valley with an amazing view of the banana plantations below as well as the Roseau Bay, West Coast Jazz offered a unique ambiance rivaled only by the great music on the day.

Heineken’s brand manager, Gaius Harry, said he was thrilled by the support and happy Heineken had taken the initiative to partner with venue owners for the event.

“When we at Heineken realized there would be no major event happening along the west coast for this year’s Jazz & Arts Festival, we looked around and having found this venue decided to partner with the owners of Plantation Bar for what has turned out to be an amazing event,” Harry said. “At Heineken we never just see ourselves as simply sponsors of any event we are part of and the Saint Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival is no different. With this event, we leveraged our support by selecting the artistes, promoting and managing the event and we are really happy with the end results.”

West Coast Jazz with Heineken featured Carl Gustave as the opening act who gave the audience a taste of old and new material. The singer/guitarist also took the opportunity to do some merchandising, gaining support for his T-shirts and CDs. Rob ‘Zi’ Taylor who has performed on the main stage at Saint Lucia Jazz as well as at a number of events across the Caribbean was also a big hit on sax with the Vybe Tribe. The artiste performed a number of original songs as well as some cover versions.

Perhaps the biggest musical phenomenon here this year, The Secret band with their percussive music, call and response chants and of course the song “Bois,” was again a hit on Sunday. The band thrilled the audience as they have been doing since Jounen Kweyol into Christmas and Independence and now the Saint Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival.

Closing off Heineken’s West Coast Jazz was the band DYP. The group had just about everyone on their feet partying to Zouk music, traditional cultural pieces, Calypso and Soca ending the event on a musical high late into the night.

Lisa Glasgow manager of Plantation Bar says the event was great and that she was happy patrons had a good time.

“I am happy with the way the event turned out and thankful for the support from Heineken,” she said. “Hopefully we will do this again next year and with earlier planning I think it will be even greater.”

Of course, no Heineken event would be the same without cold Heineken and those in attendance on Sunday took full advantage of Heineken Jazz packs on special and local dishes prepared by organizers.

Heineken is the official beer and gold sponsor of the rebranded Saint Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival 2013. The iconic brand, brewed here by WLBL, has been with the event from inception and will be fully visible this week at events like Jazz on the Grill, Jazz on the Square as well as Jazz events at Gaiety and main stage Jazz, which culminates this weekend at Pigeon Island.