The 27th edition of the St. Kitts Music Festival roared to life on Thursday night with a high-energy, star-studded opening that set the bar sky-high for the rest of the weekend.
Organizers had already described it as a potentially record-breaking year, as nearly 10,000 people packed Warner Park Stadium for what was dubbed one of the biggest Thursday nights in the festival’s history.
With fans from across the Caribbean and beyond waving flags and dancing shoulder to shoulder, the night delivered hit after hit, powered by commanding performances from Jamaican dancehall stars Shenseea and Akaiiusweet & Tobap, the homegrown Kollison Band, Trilla G, and regional soca giants Patrice Roberts and Kes The Band.
One of the evening’s standout moments came from Trilla G, the high-energy Bouyon artist from Dominica, who lit up the stage in his first-ever appearance at the St. Kitts Music Festival. Despite admitting to pre-show nerves, his performance was anything but timid.
“The performance was great, I enjoyed every single bit of it, you know, and big up to the St. Kitts massive, Dominica massive for coming out, and the entire Caribbean that represented tonight,” Trilla G said in an interview with the Saint Lucia Daily Post following his set. “I really appreciated the love, the energy, the hype, everybody brought it. It was a little short, but we did what we had to do and mash up the place.”
His passion for performing was evident.
“I took pride in performing, and I loved to do it. So as soon as I touched the stage and saw the people, I felt their energy — all butterflies went away. Everything was just nice and vibes.”
At a press conference on Friday morning, St. Kitts’ Minister of Tourism, Hon. Marsha Henderson, hailed the opening night as a major success.
“In terms of the data from last night, we had rough estimates of about 9,700 attendees, with all the suites, VIP suites, and general admission combined — just under 10,000 people,” she said. “It was one of the largest Thursday nights in the history of the music festival.”
The momentum was only expected to grow as the festival continued. Friday night’s lineup promised another massive turnout, featuring performances from the Queen of Dancehall, Spice, Da’Vinci, the legendary Vybz Kartel, and some of the best talent from St. Kitts.
