Stage is set for Dominica Music Awards; public can view live on various media platforms

Despite the COVID-19 putting a restriction on the number of people who can be in attendance for the first of its Kind Dominica Music Awards (DMA), the organizers say that the public will have the opportunity to view that show live on various media platforms.

Speaking to Dominica News Online (DNO) Proprietor of Creole Heartbeat, the mastermind behind this initiative, Leroy Wadix Charles, revealed that while the past few days have been challenging, the stage is set and all systems are go for the ceremony which will be held this evening from 7 pm at the Goodwill Parish Hall.

“Everything is in place, the hype is ongoing, the artists are extremely excited and we know that the public is equally excited for this grand event. While we would have liked the fans and other members of the public to be in attendance, the pandemic has altered those plans therefore the event will be streamed live on multisolution.com/creoleheartbeat, Facebook pages and websites such as DNO, Kairi FM, DBS, Emo news and will also be live on QFM radio,” Charles told DNO.

He further revealed that due to the health and safety guidelines stipulated by the Ministry of Health, only the winners of the virus categories will be in attendance, but expressed optimism in having the event held on a much grander scale in the years ahead.

According to him, over 200 artists were nominated and a total of 22 awards and six special recognition awards in the various musical genres will be given out this evening.

“We must say that it has been a tedious past couple of days for us, lots of long hours trying to get the final tabulation together but we are satisfied with the judges and the tabulation and also extremely satisfied with the commitment from the general public, the fans, those who actually consumed the music itself, so we are looking forward to making this a real spectacle, a real special moment for the artists, music professionals and entertainers in Dominica and we are delighted to do so,” he said.

The cultural ambassador expressed optimism about the future of Dominica’s entertainment industry, noting that the diversified music award will act as a “barometer” for Dominican artists and musicians to further develop their craft and
challenge them to work harder, in hopes of topping their genre.

“We have quite a bit of potential in Dominique and quite a bit of artists and musicians are putting in the work and we are really looking forward to bigger things from the various artists, especially the new artists category. There were a lot of names that I had not heard before, so we’re just looking for a break within the pandemic so that these artists and musicians can excel and continue to make Dominica proud,” Charles stated.

During the official press launch on January 11, co-founder of Creole Heartbeat, Jerry Williams, revealed that the entrants will be marked on four key attributes to include composition 40 points, originality 25, production standard 20 and online voting 50 points.