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Basseterre, St. Kitts – Award-winning R&B artist and Hollywood film actor Trey Songz will be performing at the 19th Annual St. Kitts Music Festival, which will take place from Thursday, June 25 to Saturday, June 27, 2015. He joins Bounty Killer, Christopher Martin, Aswad, Roy Cape, T-Vice, Tono Rosario, Ricardo Drue, Kerwin DuBois, Patrice Roberts, Blaxx and Benjai , who will all be performers for the event. This announcement was made by Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Mr. Lindsay F.P. Grant, who noted that he was thrilled to welcome Trey Songz to St. Kitts for the first time. “Trey Songz is a renowned R&B artist, with international appeal. Having him perform at the St. Kitts Music Festival will certainly reinforce the event’s reputation as a dynamic Caribbean music festival with exhilarating performances and an experience like no other.” Born Tremaine Aldon Neverson, Trey Songz is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Having been consistently nominated for awards since making his debut on the musical scene, he won a BET Award for Best Male R&B artist 2010 and a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Artist, Male, 2010. That same year, he was nominated for Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 52nd Grammy Awards and won a MuchMusic Video Award for MuchVibe Hip-Hop Video of the Year. He won a second Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Artist, Male, in 2014. In 2013, he appeared in feature roles in the films Texas Chainsaw 3D andBaggage Claim. Trey Songz is best known for his hits Bottoms Up featuring Nicki Minaj, Say Aah featuring Fabolous, I Need a Girl, Gotta Go, I Invented Sex featuring Drake, Girl Tonite, Can’t Help but Wait, Gotta Make It and Heart Attack. His seventh studio album, Slow Motion, debuted earlier this year.

Jamaica reggae singer Oneil “Vytamin” Allen will perform at the Redemption the Concert at Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port-of-Spain, on May 30. A Jamaican star is about to make the kind of debut, all of the Caribbean will forever remember. The reggae love-rockers vocalist, Oneil Allen, has a story unlike any other breakthrough artiste on the Caribbean music circuit. And added to the attained opportunity to perform at the upcoming Redemption the Concert event in T&T, this new buzz maker will likely inspire many who never thought they could make it in the music business. Allen is best known by his musical sobriquet, Vytamin. With humour, he says he’s the girls’ vitamin. His humble demeanor speaks volumes but his story is even more interesting. “It’s tough to break through in Jamaica,” he explains when questioned as to why he hasn’t made his debut onto the music scene in his Spanish Town birthplace. He says the difficulty lies in the financial challenges often faced by up and coming acts, further explaining that the right music industry connections are required. In Trinidad, while on a recent visit, Vytamin got the attention of someone who was willing to invest in what he heard. Constantly in songbird mode, the budding love-rockers superstar is working arduously to ensure that the Caribbean population becomes familiar with his voice. This week, he releases two cover versions of popular songs done by R&B artistes, Bruno Mars and James Ingram. “He has a great voice and a lot of potential,” said Millbeats Entertainment’s David Millien, the producer responsible for recording the cover versions. Millien said he feels success is imminent for Vytamin and upon learning that he would be performing at Redemption the Concert on May 30, at the Hasely Craford Stadium in Port-of-Spain, the producer became excited. “That’s great! That’s a great look,” he said. Vytamin meanwhile continues to keep his eyes to the heavens. “I’m a person from humble beginnings. My messages will always be about peace, love and unity,” said the artiste. He anticipates sharing the stage in Trinidad with Beres Hammond, known as the king of reggae love rockers, and Jamelody, the T&T reggae star whose voice he loves. A new video for the James Ingram cover song, I Don’t Have The Heart is currently being finalised. He has also done the cover version of Bruno Mars’ When I was You Man. Beyond that, Allen will deliver his own songs in the weeks ahead. Having received tremendous support and encouragement from friends in T&T, he’s now hoping that everyone who gets a taste of what he’s capable of, will soon be rocking away to his very own vibe. Follow Vytamin on Instagram and Facebook @oneilvytamin Source:Trinidad Guardian

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - While Beatles fans will converge on the Belvedere for this weekend's Abbey Road On The River, reggae fans will take over the area around the Louisville Water Tower. The Kentucky Reggae Festival begins Friday at 5 p.m. Caribbean food and drinks will be available, and there will be arts and crafts vendors selling their wares. Roots Of A Rebellion, a reggae band from Nashville, is scheduled to play from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. And Saturday, Cincinnati-based The Cliftones take the stage at 9 p.m. For ticket prices and other information, visit the event website. Source: WAVE 3 News

Game of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke did a reggae song about being a “ Rastafarian Targaryen ” as part of NBC’s “ Red Nose Day ” telethon to help raise money for children’s charities. The teaser was released earlier Thursday on YouTube, just before Coldplay's Game of Thrones musical aired in full on NBC as part of the first Red Nose Day US. Watch it below. Hundreds of celebrities have supported Red Nose Day US which has so far raised upwards of $10 million. www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfI_mUIvYq8

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - JAMAICAN Reggae superstar Duane Stephenson and six beautiful young ladies were announced as the main entertainment package at the 2015 White Sands event slated for June 28 at Carambola Beach Club. The announcement was made last Friday evening (May 15) at a launching ceremony held at the Carambola Beach Club in the presence of event’s sponsors, media representatives and a number of members of the general public. The evening then saw the introduction of six beautiful young ladies who are set to grace the stage in this year’s Miss White Sands Swimsuit Competition. The bevy of beauties varies from university students to an immigration officer. The contestants are Sidama Jones, Eusha Johnson, Rickeilia Doras, Shalloyda Hewlett, Cherrisa Maynard and Kaley Franklin. White Sands Committee member Daislyn Sharpe indicated to the audience the changes that would be made for this year's event dubbed ‘White Sands Luau’. "This year’s White Sands has taken the party and started it on the Thursday evening because at the St. Kitts Music Festival the White Sands Lounge would be open. It is all inclusive in well-appointed space, VIP entrance and an excellent view to the stage and event. Then after Thursday, Friday and Saturday, we take you to White Sands Luau." Sharpe then identified what are some of the entertainment packages for this year’s event. "There will be an increased number of bars well-appointed service area lounge. The entertainment line up for White Sands includes TNO Sounds, Jazzy T from Renaissance Sounds, Infamus, Duane Stephenson from Jamaica and a surprise guest artiste who was not named. "This year White Sands will offer a park and ride service. No need to worry about the cumbersome parking details, just park on the lawn at Frigate Bay and we will have bussed over to the venue." The event, which is the official ‘Cool Down Party’ of the St. Kitts Music Festival and endorsed by the Tourism Ministry, is sponsored by LIME and Carib Brewery, among others. The evening also featured a mini fashion show with designs from Kiwi Dan Couture and Lulu's closet. Source:http://www.sknvibes.com/

Six beauties will compete for the title of Miss Bermuda 2015 to represent the island at the Miss Universe Pageant and other international Pageants. The 2015 contestants are: Brittany Madeiros Tamara Bradshaw Kayla Williams Ligaya Sanchez-Wilson Kathryn O’Connor Alyssa Rose The pageant finals will take place Sunday July 5th, at the Fairmont Southampton Princess where the reigning Miss Bermuda, Lillian Lightbourn will crown her successor.

Jennifer Lopez is on the cover of Us Weekly‘s “Best Bodies” issue, sporting a super sexy belted one-piece swimsuit. In the issue the 45-year-old mother of twins talks about body image and how she tries her best to embrace who she is. “I embrace who I am,” said Lopez. “I feel sexy, I feel youthful, I feel pretty sometimes . She recently kicked off a BodyLab "Be the Girl" challenge to help women reach their health and fitness goals — and almost 100,000 people have signed up For more from the singer pick up the "Best Bodies" issue of Us Weekly, on stands now! What do you think of Jennifer Lopez’s swimsuit cover for Us?

The Bob Marley of “ Marley,” the new bio-musical forged from the life and artistry of the Jamaican reggae legend, is a tough guy to get a handle on. Stoic, unforthcoming, introspective, he isn’t minted from any of the molds in which star characters of musical theater are traditionally made. Mitchell Brunings portrays Bob Marley in “Marley” at Baltimore’s Center Stage. (Richard Anderson) His songs, on the other hand, earthy and hypnotic, rope you in with their sweet beats and hearty openness. As threaded together by the show’s book writer and director, Kwame Kwei-Armah, they reveal the passion of the man in ways that are otherwise not satisfyingly apparent in this world premiere, at Baltimore’s flagship theater, Center Stage. So what audiences encounter in “Marley’s” maiden run is a lumbering vehicle, equipped with some tantalizing melodic windows. Featuring the keen singing talents of Mitchell Brunings as the title character, “Marley” will certainly be considered a dream machine by fans of the globally influential songwriter. But one’s curiosity about the private man is not nearly as satisfactorily addressed as is the desire to hear his music. The deficit may boil down chiefly to a portrait of Marley that feels excessively internalized — or to an actor more vocally than dramatically expressive. In any event, “Marley” comes across at this point as a mission that’s not entirely fulfilled. Thirty or so of Marley’s melodies, performed by a nine-member band and a cast of 32, provide a broad survey of the artist’s songbook. “Revolution,” “No Woman No Cry,” “Redemption Song” and, of course, “One Love” are among the numbers given authoritative treatment here. The visual elements, supplied by the set and projection designers, Neil Patel and Alex Koch, transport us with digital panache to the Kingston, Jamaica, and London of the 1970s where much of “Marley” takes place. The windy story, though, lacks the dynamism to fully engage us between the songs. Marley, who died in 1981 at age 36, is portrayed as a pivotal figure not only in Jamaica’s music industry, but also in its political culture: The country’s prime minister, Michael Manley (Howard W. Overshown), shamelessly tries to enlist him as an ally in his fight against his chief rival, Edward Seaga (Bill Hurlbut). This culminates in Manley’s effort to co-opt a free open-air concert Marley seeks to perform for the Jamaican people, one he wishes to conduct without political taint. Caught up in turbulent events beyond his control, however, Marley and his retinue — including his wife, Rita (Saycon Sengbloh) — become targets for assassination, and he flees the country. Kwei-Armah, Center Stage’s artistic director, comes up with useful thematic context for some numbers, such as “Them Belly Full,” which helps to illuminate Marley’s concerns about average people and social injustice. Still, the production’s focus tends to drift. The multiple narrative strands concern everything from a flashback to Marley’s signing of a recording deal with a British producer (John Patrick Hayden) to his extramarital affairs and his increasingly strained relationship with Rita. Other interludes unfold around the abstractions Marley grappled with during his self-imposed exile in Europe and Africa, regarding his spiritual questing as well as his uncertainty about what role he should play in Jamaican society. It adds up to a lot of loose threads without much cumulative power. And it’s all tied up anticlimactically, in a final unity concert back on his home island. “Marley” calls to mind another biographical musical, “Fela!”, built around the career of a ­Marley ­contemporary — the Ni­ger­ian ­singer-activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti, who also had an uncanny magnetic pull on his people (but never achieved the magnitude of international fame enjoyed by Marley). “Fela!” was conceived as a concert interspersed with bits of Fela’s personal history, and it had a healthy run on Broadway, benefiting from the gleefully infectious energy of its main character and of Sahr Ngaujah, who played him. Crucially, by evening’s end, the audience had gained some understanding of what made Fela tick. That sense of being clued into what drives a messianic entertainer is nowhere to be felt in “Marley.” You’re left with the powerful memory of inspirational songs but too paltry an impression of the unique force of nature who dreamed them all into being. Source:WashingtonPost

Federal prosecutors have agreed to drop a firearms charge against Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton, who is already serving a 10-year sentence. The U.S. Attorney's Office announced Thursday that a deal with Banton calls for his waiver of all future appeals related to his 2011 conviction on a cocaine distribution conspiracy charge. Banton is scheduled to be released from federal prison in January 2019, at which time he will be deported to his native Jamaica. Banton's attorneys previously argued that he should be released early under a change in federal drug sentencing guidelines. But the change didn't apply to most minimum mandatory sentences. Banton's 10-year sentence is the minimum mandatory sentence for his conviction stemming from a 2009 arrest following a sting operation. The Associated Press

Legendary Blues singer B.B. King died Thursday at his home in Las Vegas. He was 89. King’s death was confirmed by Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg. Brent Bryson, his attorney also confirmed the date stating the King died peacefully in his sleep at his home. The Mississippi native's reign as "king of the blues" had 15 biological and adopted children, 11 of which are still alive. Born Riley B. King on Sept. 16, 1925, to Albert and Nora Ella King, both sharecroppers, in Berclair, a Mississippi hamlet outside the small town of Itta Bena. His early life was hard. He was educated in a one-room schoolhouse and had to overcome a stuttering problem He was raised by his grandmother after his parents separated and his mother died. The 15-time Grammy winner released his first album in the 1940s and would go on to inspire some of the world's greatest guitarists, including Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix and Keith Richards. King played a Gibson guitar he affectionately called Lucille, creating a style that included single-string runs punctuated by loud chords, subtle vibratos and bent notes, building on the standard 12-bar blues. King suffered from diabetes and had also been in declining health during the last year. He collapsed during a concert in Chicago in October, blaming dehydration and exhaustion.

On reggae music legend Bob Marley's 34th death anniversary, we look back at some interesting facts about the singer's life and work... Bob Marley was actually named Nesta Robert Marley but a Jamaican passport official would later reverse his first and middle names. As a young boy, Bob Marley learnt to play the guitar from popular reggae musician Joe Higgs , who also helped Marley and his friends, Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh, Beverley Kelso and Junior Braithwaite, who would later go on to form a successful band their vocal harmonies. Bob Marley was an avid football fan growing up and followed the Brazilian club Santos and its star player Pelé. He even made Jamaican international footballer Allan “Skill” Cole his tour manager in the 1970s. After his band the Wailers disbanded in 1974, Bob Marley embarked on a solo career in 1977. His first solo album, 'Exodus' established his worldwide reputation and produced his status as one of the world's best-selling artists of all time, with sales of more than 75 million records. Bob Marley's life has been the subject of several documentaries. The first of which titled, 'Rebel Music' won various awards at the Grammys and contained contributions from Marley's wife Rita, The Wailers, and Marley's lovers and children. Another documentary, 'Bob Marley: The Making of a Legend' made by his ex-girlfriend and filmmaker Esther Anderson along with Gian Godoy was released in 2011. A third feature, 'Marley' directed by Kevin Macdonald was released on 2012. A statue of Bob Marley stands next to the national stadium on Arthur Wint Drive in Kingston, Jamaica to commemorate the legend. After being diagnosed with a type of malignant melanoma under the nail of a toe, a harmful cancer, Bob Marley was advised by the doctor to get his toe amputated but the singer refused citing his religious beliefs. Instead the nail and nail bed were removed and a skin graft taken from his thigh to cover the area. Bob Marley continued touring the world despite his illness. His band completed a major tour of Europe after the release of his album 'Uprising' in 1980, where it played its biggest concert to 100,000 people in Milan. Marley then toured America, where he performed two shows at Madison Square Garden as part of the Uprising Tour and appeared at the Stanley Theater (now called The Benedum Center For The Performing Arts) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on 23 September 1980, which would be his last concert. Bob Marley had a number of children: three with his wife Rita, two adopted from her previous relationships, and several others with different women. His official website acknowledges 11 children. Bob Marley was an ardent follower of the Rastafari movement religion, whose culture was a key element in the development of reggae. He was instrumental in taking their music out of the socially deprived areas of Jamaica and onto the international music scene. Inspired by Jamaican political leader Marcus Garvey , Bob Marley was a Pan-Africanist, and believed in the unity of African people worldwide and had anti-imperialist and pro-African themes in many of his songs, such as 'Zimbabwe', 'Exodus', 'Survival', 'Blackman Redemption', and 'Redemption Song'. In 1978, Bob Marley performed at the One Love Peace Concert, again in an effort to calm warring parties. Near the end of the performance, Michael Manley (leader of then-ruling People's National Party) and his political rival Edward Seaga (leader of the opposing Jamaica Labour Party), joined each other on stage and shook hands as per Marley's request. Apparently, Bob Marley's final words to his son Ziggy were "Money can't buy life." Source: http://www.mid-day.com/

Signature by Terry Donovan Events presents The 7th Annual Summer Sizzle BV I, a fashion & lifestyle dream destination event in the beautiful British Virgin Islands. Scheduled for July 23 – 27, 2015 , Summer Sizzle BVI is a fabulous destination getaway for a weekend of fashion, sun and fun. The event will be hosted by Empire star Taraji P. Henson. Her costar Jussie Smollett will be a special guest. Summer Sizzle BVI offers an escape to the Caribbean, combining fashion, decadent parties, island tours, sailing excursions and more. Summer Sizzle events include the Culture and Style Welcome Party, the Sunset White Fashion Fete, a Sailing Excursion, the highly anticipated fashion gala, VIP after-party, and other fabulous activities. The highlight of Summer Sizzle BVI, the Global Glamour fashion show, serves as a platform for showcasing international and Caribbean trend-setting fashion designers and models from some of the world’s top agencies including Ford, IMG, Elite, DNA, Major, Muse and RED. Sessilee Lopez, Arlenis Sosa, Georgie Badiel and Tara Gill are among the diverse selection of top models who have strutted the runways. Terry Donovan Events also offers emerging designers and artists an opportunity to develop their skills in technique and business by offering workshops by some of the industry’s top celebrity artists. Originally created in 2007 by Terry Donovan of Signature by Terry Donovan Events, Summer Sizzle began as a fashion show with the purpose of promoting the Virgin Islands. Since then, Terry’s vision has culminated into a four day fashion and lifestyle event attracting celebrities, designers, models, international media, industry executives, buyers and also a diverse audience of affluent professionals and influencers from around the globe.