By Ben Kilbey in St. Kitts

Fever pitch is mounting as the temperature rises on the Caribbean Island of St. Kitts. The reason? Simple. The ninth annual St. Kitts Music Festival. A press conference was hosted for regional, national and international press only an hour ago to give a sample of what can be expected from the international renowned musical bonanza. Speaking at the conference Minister Ricky Skerritt commented; “This is the best of what the Caribbean has to offer, the festival is a wonderful tribute to Caribbean culture.”
During the conference questions were launched at a panel consisting of a variety of artists and artist’s representatives. One point was risen regarding whether or not the festival would be included in the new MTV channel, MTV Caribbean. Hon. Skerritt suggested that festival organisers were in ‘discussions’ with MTV and that it was likely that the festival would become an integral part of programming in the future.

2005 witnessed the first year in which ticket sales were also allocated online, for which expectations of sales are high. Skerritt acknowledged that the initiative was only three months old and still needed a lot of work. It is hoped that by the close of the festival on Sunday that complete figures can be released.

Speaking of the event Skerritt continued:

“There will be a seamless transition from artist to artist and genre to genre. Not every music genre is represented but there is a good mix, there has been a lot of work this year to get the mix just right.”

The festival runs from tonight (June 23) until Sunday June 26. Featured artists include Rupee and The .Com Band, Kenny Rogers and Wyclef Jean. Let the party begin.

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