The eighteenth edition of the World Creole Music Festival (WCMF) came to an anti-climatic end with King Dice thanking the few remaining patrons at about 5am on Monday, October 27, 2014. This is the first time I have attended a full session of the WCMF in at least five years. The WCMF does not excite me. In the past, if there were an act or two I wanted to see, I would go see the act(s) and leave shortly thereafter. This year a friend came just for the WCMF and stayed with me, so I attended all three nights of the festival. I did not see the opening acts on Saturday and Sunday and the closing act on Friday my review will exclude them.
The overall experience for me was disappointing. I was disappointed that the show ended so abruptly, that there was no representative from the DFC, not even the MC to thank the patrons for their support of WCMF; that the changeover between acts were so long, in some instances as much as 45 minutes; that the quality of the MCs were so poor: this was just not the usual high standard of Val; that the female artists spent so much time feeding the stereotype of women as sex objects; that First Serenade appeared to have been made to exit the stage so unceremoniously; that Michelle Henderson was so early in the line-up, singing to a small crowd; that the calypsonians came in so late and in the words of a policeman singing to a stadium of 60 persons; that the calypsonians were not allowed to sing any of their own renditions, though Daddy Chess sang and we enjoyed, “Forward, We Go!” In my view, the Dominican artists were treated “with no honour in their homeland.” I will elaborate on some of these points later.
Amidst the disappointment, there were moments of satisfaction. On Friday evening, Soukous and T-Vice performed well. I enjoyed and liked their energy and professionalism. You know they were happy and honoured to be performing at the WCMF and they gave us their best. Jah Cure’s performance was lacklustre. That certainly was not a performance befitting the “crowd drawer, “ and main act of the night.
On Saturday, the night I enjoyed the most, I found it fitting that the Midnight Groovers were honoured with the “WCMF Lifetime Achievement Award,” in the year the festival attained “adulthood.” Midnight Grovers, like Swinging Stars, Exile One, Grammacks, is legendary and much loved in Dominica. I remember some years ago, the public outcry that they were not included on the WCMF line-up. Chubby and Co were lost for words to say “Thank You.” I felt they wanted to take us down memory lane, talking about the struggles to make it as a band and gain recognition, the acceptance and love of Dominicans both here and overseas and the support of the band members, family and friends. They never got to say it all but I felt it.
I loved the energetic performance of Klass and enjoyed the performance by the soca artists Denise Belfont, Dubois and Destra, though at one point I felt that Dubois and Destra were singing with playback. I also believed that the performances by Denise and Destra could have been just as strong without the high level of sexual innuendos. I often marvel that male artists seldom use themselves as sex objects in their performances and I struggle with the message that women performers are sending. We ask for respect, to be seen and recognised for who we are, and get upset that we are seen as sex objects. We sometime object when male performers use women as sex objects yet, for many female artists, song after song, it is a whining competition. I am always amazed that women respond when a call is made for a woman to come on stage to whine or compete. This year, Denise and Destra also called for men and men responded! I was pleased to hear Chubby on DBS 6:45am news bulletin this morning (Oct 28) lamenting the over emphasis of sex and whining in the songs and recommending to the young male artists to write and sing more conscious songs. I stayed on to see WCK as my friend wanted to see them perform. Alas, this was a disappointment. This was not vintage WCK. Something was missing. There just did not appear to be a rhyme or reason to that performance.
Sunday, started off for me well. When I came Michelle was on. I heard the early part of her performance on the radio and thought it was a bit low keyed, however by the time I entered the park, Michelle was in full bloom, looking resplendent in her white tail jacket and madras shorts. (I would have made the shorts a little longer to end with the tails for greater impact). Michelle is a consummate performer, so talented and I confess I really love Michelle. She is so gifted and authentic. My favourite of Michelle’s song is “My Pride.” This song evokes such strong emotions for me and I am in awe that she wrote that song when she was only about 16. The selection included the CARICOM national anthem, which evokes such pride, tribute to Ophelia, Jeff Jo, Gordon Henderson and some of her popular songs. I was surprised however that Michelle was so early in the line-up, for the park was relatively empty at that time, compared to the peak crowd of the night.
This set the stage for a grand night of music and entertainment and I commented to my friend, with this start we are on to witness and enjoy the best night of the Festival. This pronouncement seemed to be on a path to be fulfilled with the First Serenade. First Serenade dressed in creole wear and their “chapeau pie”, came to deliver a high quality, high impact performance. They started off well paying tribute to various legends of cadence, and just when we were duly warmed up and ready for vintage serenade, the lead singer only got to the first line of “Bef la largee,” when“yo chepe bef la.” With what appeared to be the premature exit of First Serenade, the night just went downhill. My disappointment was palpable. This was compounded by the long changeover awaiting Tabou Combo. They were good but my disappointment at the treatment of First Serenade strengthened when after Tabou appeared to have ended their performance an hour after they started, Wadix asked the crowd if it wanted more of Tabou, Tabou was brought back. This contrasts so sharply with the treatment of First Serenade. The crowd spontaneously asked for more of Serenade to no avail. I remarked then, “A prophet truly has no honour in his homeland,” not knowing that this sentiment would come back to me when the calypsonians came to perform. Somewhere in between there was a band from Dominican Republic, truth is, I don’t even remember where they appeared.
Cecile came after Tabou, after another long changeover. I confess I knew nothing about Cecile, so I had no preconceived expectations. Her performance was weak. There again was another female artist relying primarily on sex appeal to make a performance. If you are talented and confident of your talent and gift, you need not rely on sex. While I was lamenting this point, a female friend said, “But Valda, sex sells.” I retorted why do men seldom use sex then, and I was stumped for words, when a man overhearing the conversation she retorted, “Is men that paying! Men are the ones buying the sex, hence women are the ones selling!” I had no rejoin! A male friend laughed that I had no response! He smiled with a mischievous glint in his eyes and remarked, “Valda, I loved it!” When I asked him whether he would like his girlfriend to behave like that. He responded, “Valda, you must understand there is wife, girlfriend and side chick. Wife and girlfriend cannot dress and behave like that; this is for the side chick.” Well a long conversation ensued and I think it is a topic for discussion at a later date. This confirms it is we, women, who are the ones to make the change.
Following Cecile and another lengthy changeover, Fanatic took the stage, after 3am, well past the scheduled 2am end. By then the crowd thinned, just a few diehard Fanatic and/or calypso fans. I thought the calypsonians would perform first and then we climax with Fanatic but it was the reverse. Carlyn did three dress changes. She started off in a shiny silver top and black shorts, followed by a creole outfit and finally the creole top and black pants. She is also another very talented, confident artist, with wide range. The Fanatic dancers were also part of the performance. Fanatic performed well, however the crowd’s response was lukewarm. The crowd only came alive when Webb came on doing some old time calypsos, which he executed in vintage Webb style. He was followed by Scrunter in the same vein, whose selection included “Pointe Michel Girls.” We were then ready for Daddy Chess who brought us some old calypsos including one of Ency’s and then had us all going “Forward We Go, nah neh, nah neh!” With that we were waiting on King Dice to really bring down the house. Sadly this was not to be. He advised us from the inception that he was only going to sing the songs he was paid to sing and that was other people’s songs, going back in time and he would not be singing any of his songs, like Daddy Chess. He also made a very profound point that with calypso being placed last, and as it turned out, he being the last performer, he did not know whether to feel honoured or sad. Well for me, it was sad. After doing Tennis shoe town, and “Dey Fraid Me,” King Dice thanked us and left the stage and the curtain closed on the 18th edition of the WCMF. The few persons who had stayed to the end were clearly disappointed and could not believe that we heard not one of King Dice’s songs and that Fanatic did not play again, though we knew it was getting on to 5am. There was no official or MC to officially close the curtain on the 18th WCMF. And here again, for at least the second time for the night, “The prophet has no honour in his homeland,” was the strong sentiment I felt.
I heard the Chairman of the WCMF, and Executive Director of Discover Dominica, Mr Colin Piper, on DBS morning news this morning (Oct 28) advising that a post-mortem will be held in November and the public will get an opportunity to give their reviews, and so I take this opportunity to offer here a few suggestions:
- Review the purpose of the WCMF. DFC needs to determine the unique selling point of the WCMF. It needs to answer the question, “What differentiates the WCMF from the other festivals in the Caribbean?” This will then guide the planning of the event and the selection of the acts.
- Broaden the search for acts. There are so many recycled acts from overseas at the WCMF. There are many talented acts from across the French-speaking world who would love the exposure and who may provide “more value for the money,” than some of the other acts used. The aim of the WCMF must include exposing the Dominican public to creole music worldwide and exposing our Dominican culture and country worldwide. We cannot achieve those aims if we restrict ourselves to the same countries and acts year-in-year-out.
- Understand fully the power of the acts so that the scheduling of the performances can be optimised. Sunday’s timing was clearly a mistake. Cecile should have been the second act; First Serenade should have been allowed to perform longer.
- Greater respect to be accorded to the local artists. The fact that they were selected to perform has to be taken as an indication of their talent and if it is meant to give them an opportunity to perform on a world stage, then being placed first or last, with a scant crowd defeats the purpose. They should also have some of the same terms including length of performance. Some people will only be seeing those bands at the festival, as they do not attend the dances or fetes where the bands or artists may be performing.
- The local artists should be allowed to sing some of their own renditions. In my mind it defeats one of the aims to provide exposure if the artists cannot sing their own songs. First Serenade and the calypsonians, with the exception of Daddy Chess who sang one of his songs, did not sing any of their renditions.
- The use of playback to accompany artists at a world event is not acceptable. I am conscious that there is a cost factor. However, it is better to have three good acts than five. There is also an opportunity for a local band to accompany the foreign artists. Since many of the artists are confirmed in advance, the music of their songs could be sent to the local band for practice and the singer(s) get to Dominica a day or two early for practice with he band. If in fact Dubois sang with playback, there was no song performed by Dubois that any of our local bands or musician could not play. I am sure they have all performed those songs at some point.
- The role of a Master of Ceremony is supposed to keep the crowd informed and entertained. It appeared that all they did during the WCMF was announced the acts. The MC’s role needs to be clarified to give a polished, professional effect.
- The changeover to be shortened to keep the momentum as well as the schedule. During the changeover, some other performance can be happening as happened on a few occasions this weekend, to entertain the patrons.
- The DFC to use its contacts and influence to secure opportunities for our artists at festivals and other events in other countries.
My friend leaves Dominica disappointed at her first experience of WCMF: the selection of acts, the organisation, the long changeovers with nothing happening, the inadequacy of the MCs. The 18th WCMF has come to an end and I thank all those who organised and participated. I pray that all efforts will be made to ensure that the 19th WCMF is bigger and better, and provide opportunities for both our local and foreign artists on the world stage.
I can be contacted at [email protected] and Tel: 767 44 9649.
Until we meet again, May the Lord Continue to Keep Us in the Palm of His Hands. Blessings Aplenty.
Valda,
Nathalie Clarke left her position as Events Director at DFC. Nathalie is a concious, artistic, organised, and creative proffessional. Someone had to quickly take up the post of Nathalie. Unfortunately, none of the workers at DFC learned enough from Nathalie to step up and work efficiently. This is the first year i have seen such disorganization at DFC. The workers were even rude to people coming for printed passes, very little feel of professionalism when you walked into the office and no sight of leadership. I guess the people working at DFC are not capable of climbing ladders. No one dove on the opportunity? This shows the brain drain that has occurred in Dominica. WE NEED CREATIVE PROFESSIONALS! Start teaching it at DSC- Event Management, Marketing Communication, Media, Art Business, Tourism, Social Media Management, Production, etc. The same people doing stage management for ALL the shows. Time for a new fresh company. Young entrepreneurs are you observing? VAl and Waddix or ok but not attractive enough. Neither are they perceived as “inviting images” by the new crowd. Monelle doesn’t have the energy the crowd needs from a female image. Last year and this year, i observed that they had young ladies doing video interviews with the artists. I guess for a stream. Miss Dominica 2013 Leslasa and Nicki who now writes on DNO. They are energetic young women. The MC should be of that sort of image, beautiful, young, eloquent, funny, energetic, inviting, brave, smiley. Why not audition for hosts? I hope they get someone to fill Nathalie’s shoes before Jazz Fest. Because it too, will be a disaster.
I highly recommend having a SOCA SATURDAY. the Trinidadian soca artists are class entertainers. pay them their money’s worth so they don’t rely on playback.
As for the rest of WCMF, EPIC FAIL.!!!
1. Sound system was terrible.
2. MCs horrible
3. WTH is up with those huge intermissions?
4. stage and lighting was poor as usual
5. There was no flow or sequence.
6. No need for those boring DJs
6.Tourism minister needs to be sacked
7. Entire DFC crew needs to be sacked
8. WCK is dead. R.I.P
I was baffled this was 2014. we are going backwards in Dominica. Don’t these people see how festivals are hosted in ST. Kitts etc.
Besides the soca acts on Saturday evening I rate WCMF 1/10.
A huge disgrace.
Very objective piece Dr.Henry . I read every bit of your article and I do agree with 90 % of its content . I do hope that the authorities will certainly take notes . I do believe that the Bayfront could have been made a festival village for the creole fest weekend including all our local cuisine , culture and crafts on display . We need to do better . I believe that the Directir of the festival needs fresh ideas and needs to be more engaging !
That’s exactly the message Gordon Henderson was sending. We need to do better than that. What a mess! Hope they get it together next year.
Thanks for that great review Valda, you were quite observant and hence hit the nail on its head. It is so ridiculous how our local artist are treated, they are paid peanuts whilst the foreign artist get huge payments. The treatment of our local artist at home is unfair, its shameful….. Barbados, Trinidad, and Jamaica would NEVER treat their local artists in this way, and hence the reason why their music flourishes.
you was a little to biased on certain points some was good but its your opinion and its a little irrelevant to make so much remarks you only went cause of your guest what you didnt like someone may have liked thats why it has many performances to suit people choices and thats why they had a schedule with who coming for your own desire and yet again its and entertaining show your in dominica u cant make so much remarks in the states where there females body appeal will be way worst than that so why come here and belittle the people who are making something work
You may have your points but you need to step up your grammar to allow readers to understand your post better.
To create a truly WMCF we need to explore the other side of the creole world and stop centralizing on the francophone. To get us thinking…
Which other side is that?
Well if these things really went on we need to go back to the drawing board.
i was there from start to end and yes what was said is infact the truth.
I dont think the artist selectors are doing justice to the show. ms. Henry you forgot to mention the Zouk all Stars and Franky Vincent. They were awesome.
The writer of this review defeats her entire purpose. The tone of this article is so demeaning. Henry, please remember this is OUR product!
There are a few observations that warrant our attention.
1. The sound system was an embarrassment to say the least. At times a few people were wondering if this was a festival or a beach party.
2. Jah Cure should NOT be invited again. Money brought him here, not the interest to perform. He was a mess.
3. There was a public outcry when the WCK was not invited to perform. Are the people now satisfied that they no longer are great performers?? The performance was mediocre. I think this should be their last performance.
4. The soca artistes were well received , especially Destra. As was mentioned in the article,playback should be discouraged.
5. I think the MCs should be changed. Poor poor performance. My God!!
6. Dice likes being the underdog. There was no reason to make such a statement to the crowd. Handle ur affairs with the DFC.
7. We need to broaden our horizons. We can’t keep recycling the artistes. We need a crowd puller.
8. Saturday night was the best night. This was made apparent by the satisfied crowd. Keep doing what was done on that night!
9. Midnight Groovers is a masterpiece!
Pal you just reiterated all what Doc said…smh
Last time i check Miss Henry Triple Kay performed at the festival and for a local band they were of an international standard and has been that way for the pass 4 years now…
Aunty Valda:*.
The issue here is pretty simple and still tasking,
Dominicans on a whole fail to notice what a Million dollar Product in the WCMF.
But again Dominicans seems to lack the ability to think Big Place goals and targets to improve the event.
We live in a enlighten global village but we have a stone age Mentality thus we can’t crunch it period..
This WCMF requires folks who understand the entertainment industry world wide. it’s not a blocko and bush rum minded…we don’t subscribe to class modules it’s not part of Dominica’s DNA.
the WCMF need a village setting which is the norm of Festivals to be able to create the setting, so all during the day you could have folks entering purchasing creole stuff and feeling a picnic vibe, but we seem to not understand in Dominica. thus we will always be at the low end of the stick spinning in circles and not being able to score a 9 or 10.
Simple Dominicans need to think BIGGER!! invest into the media arts and stop thinking low ended!!
The city of Roseau is the festival city. Has been so for the last three years, come take a look, there are different activities, including trade shows , cultural activities etc during the days of creole festival.
i must agree with you i came to Dominica my home land with friends and they only enjoyed saturday night they were saying they expected more. The mc was totally boring we we did not even get a thank you and see you all next year, to the DFC you need to change up a bit Dominicans want to see their own before any other start with ours next time and please dont bring Jah cure back total waste of time, think he hates dominicans but love our money after his watch problem. lets consider bringing Machel next year and maybe even get DJ Private Ryan to rock WCMF please!!!! maybe i will come and please get better MC for next year.Happy independence Dominica.
Treatment of the Mc’s were terrible. I guess thats why they all left. DFC needs to treat them with respect so they can work efficiently.
For the most part, I am in accordance with the review of Dr. Henry. There need to be a greater effort to look for newer and broader acts. As far as the calypsonians, I see nothing wrong in them singing creole renditions, but I believe that they should also be allowed to sing one or two of their own renditions.
Taking from this statement, “Amidst the disappointment, there were moments of satisfaction. On Friday evening, Soukous and T-Vice performed well. I enjoyed and liked their energy and professionalism. You know they were happy and honoured to be performing at the WCMF and they gave us their best.” Our local artist need to be professional and feel honored to be chosen to perform at WCMF. Professionalism is not announcing that you are only allowed to sing the songs that you are being paid to sing. Perform for the people like we know you can. You had a choice to accepted the terms of the contract or refuse. You chose to perform cause ” you are a performer and paid to perform for whoever so you worked to support your child (paraphrased from your song).
All is all I will stress that our local acts step up their game and bring a little more professionalism to their acts and appreciate the fans who come to support. How do you do that; Great, bring down the house performances. The Organizers should be there at the end to thank the patrons for the support and give a few parting words.
One Love Dominicans!!!!
Very well written. I am in total agreement, especially regarding our own artists. These artists are treated far better abroad than in a country which should be very proud of them.
Dominica need to step up or another country, St Lucia, may take over the show.
I think this assessment of the festival is spot on because i listened to most acts and came to same conclusion. Interestingly, nothing has changed year after year. The organizers are mainly focused on ticket sales. I don’t even think they understand what a post-mortem is. They go thru the motions but come up with the same results. No disrespect to the organizers but I think this festival might be a little over their heads, from the selection of the acts down to the organization on and off stage. As for the treatment of the Midnight Groovers and local acts it was rather shameful. I think it’s time for a complete overhaul of the management team because these old heads are burnt out!!
Have local bands accompanying foreign acts?
Which band that used play back?
There is something in music called sequencing…The best of artists use it to enhance their performance..Valda get to the program.
Serenade had 45 minutes from what I was told, they played well bur was playing like they had 90 minutes. Whereby they were on time for NCCU cadence where a finance was involved. In show business time is time.
The last act was told their performance was a tribute to the road march songs of years gone by…Once again Valda get to the program…There were top local Dj’s for change over times Valda get to the program…… Valda there must be opening acts and to suggest who should be on where is disrespectful….You appear to know very little about show business and the contractual arrangements of artists…I suggest you stick to what you know best…I have lost respect for you
I want to commend Dr. Henry on her analysis – very thorough and informative. I am not in a position to analyze the many points made so I appreciate the educated feedback.
Granted, lifting women from treating themselves as sex objects is your life’s core message. However I agree with others that you belaboured the point. Perhaps you should also address some of the unique challenges to this year’s planning.
Overall, if WCMF/DFC were to pay for this consultation, it would command top dollar from a consummate professional.
I concur with Valda’s views. The jA act was total bull…period….. she literally sent the crowd to sleep and after her dismal performance they left in droves. .It was already way past 3:00) am. Instead of her both Michelle and Seranade could have had extended play periods which would have pleased the crowd and saved us some bucks. The sound system also had some issues because the main mic was rather low except for when the foreign bands were performing and even then Tabou had some issues with that mic…. So definitely that review needs to have some great analysis and define the way forward with the activity because it is really a great show. We just have to get it right!!! Congrats to everyone though for the effort and coordination,..
Dominica needs more pro-active patriots like Valda
I agree totally with this review except the comments on the soca artists… i think they were the highlight of the entire event…the ppl on stage were entertaining.. the fact of the matter is sex sells!!!
I agree with this commentary of the WCMF and I myself is disappointed with first the sound system which to me sounded horrible particularly when midnight groovers was playing. The MC’s were totally hopeless and again the disappointment of the Jamaican artists and the sex displays of the soca artists were boring. The compa bands all performed well so we need to bring more of these bands who really give a good act.
Okay then
Midnight Groovers sounded horrible because their engineer was limited and untrained …I had issues with the Sound system myself but heard the zouk all stars were breath taking on the same sound system that same night.
DFC bann the sound system
Next WCMF bring Machel Montano and then it will be awesome
Machel and Bunji must be on the next fetsival
this review by Valda Henry is bias and somewhat baseless, in the first place she made it clear that the , only reason she went to the festival was because of her guest. also some of the acts she mentioned she was satisfied with are the acts most likely fits hers age group. hey this is show business i don’t think the female artiste are sex symbols, they are performers. more over i think Ms Henry is over exaggerating about WCK, the band was ok. In concluding, i think she ( Valda Henry) should not be the person giving that review and should not attend the festival in the first place. she made it clear she want interested at the start of the review.
Anyone who attends an event can give a review. And, since DR. (the lady has a PhD, show her some respect) Henry attended the Festival, she has every right to review it. Also, if you think that “show business” is not about “selling women as sex symbols” then I can see why you have an issue with Dr. Henry’s review.
There is no review that can have no bias. A review is the OPINION of a person. It is HOW THE PERSON SEES IT. And she never said she was not interested in the Festival… she said she never ‘STAYED ALL THREE NIGHTS’ and she explained that usually she would just go to see the acts she was interested in and leave after. What is wrong with that? Get a life. If you think you could have made a better review give it a try, otherwise shut up.
true dat
Very good account! Indeed the festival needs to reconsider its purpose…
So why don’t you go to Trinidad and leave the Creole festival for those who love Creole music?
Only one ting to say best acts for this year was the soca artist … We need more soca artist here…. Everybody have their opinion n I know more than have of Dominica would agree that destra , Kerwin n Denise make this year remarkable