#The 2025 Saint Lucia Jazz and Arts Festival kicked off in explosive fashion at the Mindoo Phillip Park in Marchand on April 30th, drawing a crowd of over 12,000 people in what Tourism Minister Dr. Ernest Hilaire described as a record-breaking and culturally rich opening night.
“This is the biggest crowd that we have had,” Hilaire said, noting the impressive turnout.
The festival’s opening featured a diverse musical lineup, offering something for everyone—from country music to reggae, soca, and bouyon. According to Minister Hilaire, the variety helped ensure wide appeal across Saint Lucian and visiting audiences alike. Said Hilaire: “Tonight offers a little bit for everybody. Everybody will get something.”
Headliner and reggae icon Sizzla delivered a powerhouse performance, captivating the audience with a string of his most beloved hits, including Black Woman and Child, Thank You Mama, Give Me a Try, Woman I Need You, Words of Divine, and Got It Right Here. Though initially scheduled for a 45-minute set, Sizzla thrilled fans with an extended performance lasting over an hour, treating Saint Lucians to more than two decades of reggae classics.
“It’s always been a pleasure performing in Saint Lucia, to sing for you beautiful people,” Sizzla told the crowd. “So I want to say thank you very much for accepting good music. I really appreciate you, because you are the ones that keep promoting us, and your presence makes a difference.”
Despite some criticism over the festival’s artist lineup, Hilaire stood firm in his support, dismissing the doubts.
“We have the best line-up, so I don’t know where you would hear it’s not the best,” he remarked. “I can’t comment on something I’ve never heard. What’s not best about it? I don’t know.”
He emphasised that Saint Lucia Jazz continues to build on its reputation as one of the top music festivals globally, pointing to the success of recent community-based jazz events.
“Considering Saint Lucia Jazz has been touted as one of the best music festivals in the world, I think we’re going to continue to grow,” he said. “You can see from the community jazz festivals how they’ve grown. We just had Micoud Jazz, and you saw the turnout.”
The minister also underlined the festival’s evolving focus, shifting from purely a tourism marketing tool to a vital platform for local talent development and cultural enrichment.
“We have to introduce more and more of a developmental component to the festival,” Hilaire explained. “It has to grow to actually develop our creatives in Saint Lucia, and that’s what we’re trying to achieve—especially through the community jazz, where our local talent can start to emerge.”
He added that the expansion of the arts component—from spoken word to visual and performing arts—is key to deepening the festival’s impact.
“Of course, we introduce more of the art component… all of that to add to the whole experience of the Jazz and Arts Festival. Now that is important!”
With the 2025 edition off to a powerful start, expectations are high for the upcoming events on the festival calendar, as both locals and visitors flock to venues across the island to enjoy what has become Saint Lucia’s hallmark celebration of music, art, and culture.
Crowd Shot Photo Credits Ronald Raoul
