2006 BVI Music Fest

Oh what a weekend it was! The weather couldn't have been more perfect and the music was very good ... for the most part. However, the 2006 event was not without its disappointments.

When I was informed of the lineup for this year's BVI Music Fest, I was ecstatic to learn that Roberta Flack and The Stylistics would be playing on Sunday night. I was so excited that I chartered a Voyage catamaran for the weekend, invited several friends to join me and in an unprecedented move, closed the office for three days so I could attend!

I suppose our age group is showing, but to be honest, none of us are big fans of some of the other musical genres showcased at the BVI Music Fest, so we stayed on the boat and just hung out on Friday and Saturday night in anticipation of our big night on the beach at Cane Garden Bay!

Unfortunately, the stage was set up in such a way that unless you were directly in front of the stage, you couldn't see much of anything. The huge speakers were pushed all the way forward on the stage and beside a runway (similar to that used at fashion shows) which the lead singers used to get closer to the crowd. The rest of the band members were not able to move around that much and were completely hidden by the speakers to those of us on the sidelines.

The crowd assembled early and was so dense that anyone with even a slight case of claustrophobia was out of luck. We were to the left of the stage (at the fence) and could not see much of anything. I am 5'2, so in a crowd, I am often at armpit level of those around me and tend to freak out in crowds. On a hot night in paradise, this was not a pleasant place to be! Getting pictures in a situation such as this is a major problem for vertically challenged individuals. In a crowd, I often have to hold my arms straight up over my head, aim the camera in the general direction of the stage and hope for the best. Well this year, my best was pretty dismal ... but I did get a few very good shots.

However, you will not see any of my photos from the 2006 Music Fest on this website. In protest against the Music Festival Committee for not informing people until just minutes before her performance, that NO pictures of Roberta Flack would be permitted AND for threatening the entire crowd that the Music Fest's security people would confiscate their cameras should anyone dare to take a shot of Ms. Flack ... no photos of the 2006 Music Fest will appear on this website.

I was disappointed and really upset with the "Divatude" Roberta Flack displayed. In fact, I was so bummed out that I left and went to Quito's to calm down. I missed the majority of her performance.

As was evidenced by the loud and sorrowful groan emanating from the entire crowd, I think the committee members made a huge error in judgment by leaving it until the very last minute to tell the eager crowd, anxiously awaiting Ms. Flack's entrance, that no photographs or video would be permitted!

I put off writing this review for 2 months, thinking that I may change my mind and in retrospect, look more kindly upon the 2006 Music Fest. But I find I am still upset and disappointed. Hopefully, the 2007 committee will choose their headliners more carefully and will rule out those artists who's egos exceed their talent! I am not alone in my views ... the people of the British Virgin Islands don't take kindly to this sort of display either.

As a friend of mine stated while I was heading to Quito's, "I'd like to see a security guard try to take your camera away!" "He'd have to pry it from your cold, dead fingers!"

A picture may be worth a thousand words ...
but for 2006, you'll have to settle for words alone!

See photos of the 2005 BVI Music Fest ... and I'd like to add my thanks to those gracious artists who appreciated their fans enough to allow themselves to be photographed!

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