Bermuda Music Festival

I love working on these "music festivals in exotic locales" stories, which are frankly not much more than promotional announcements with some random commentary thrown in, because I can fantacize about being there at least while I'm tossing the piece together. And who knows, maybe someone who reads them will actually be enticed to go, which I would most certainly do myself if it weren't for such variables as work, money, children, and time.

So quite a few of these paradisiacal islands have discovered that music festivals are a grand way to entice people to their particular spec in the Great Blue, and Bermuda has been doing it now for nine years:

Bermuda is pulling out all the stops for the launch of its ninth annual Bermuda Music Festival, Oct. 6 ­ 11, 2004 . Formerly known as the Bermuda Jazz Festival, the name change reflects a decision to broaden the scope of musical genres showcased at the event as well as attracts a more diverse audience to the island.

Produced by BET Event Productions (BEP), the sensational line up of entertainers will feature performances by Gerald Albright, Babyface, Anita Baker, The O'Jays and Seal on the main stage, and numerous other international and native Bermudian artists. The above main-stage performances will take place at the Royal Naval Dockyard, Thursday through Saturday (Oct. 7 ­ 9) on a breathtaking, outdoor, over-the-water stage with the turquoise waters of the Atlantic Ocean as the backdrop. Other dynamic acts such as Elito Reve Y Su Charangon will perform at more intimate venues like The Fairmont Hamilton Princess (Wednesday, Oct.6), while the chic Fairmont Southampton Beach Club will offer al fresco dining to the soothing sounds of beloved singing duo Kindred The Family Soul (Sunday, Oct. 10).

Anita Baker
With her classy, refined brand of romantic soul, Anita Baker was one of the definitive quiet storm singers of the ’80s. Gifted with a strong, supple alto, Baker was influenced not only by R&B, but jazz, gospel, and traditional pop, which gave her music a distinctly adult sophistication.

At age 12, she began singing in a gospel choir, and by age 16 she was performing with several local bands. In 1975, she successfully auditioned for Chapter 8, one of Detroit’s most popular acts at the time. The group eventually released an album in 1979, but was immediately dropped when Arista Records acquired their label. In 1982, Otis Smith, an executive who’d worked with Chapter 8, contacted Baker about recording for his new label Beverly Glen. Baker flew out to the West Coast to record her debut album, “The Songstress,” in 1983. Though it didn’t gain quite enough exposure to become a hit, it did help Baker build a strong fan base through word-of-mouth and she was signed by Elektra in 1985.

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Article Author: Eric Olsen

Career media professional Eric Olsen is honored to be the founder and publisher of Blogcritics.org, which, quite frankly, rules - as do his wife and four children.

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