The Saint Lucia Roots and Soul Festival is dedicated to musicians who are setting new trends in reggae, conscious hip-hop, Afro-punk and R&B, with performances, master classes and encounters between artists and other actors in the music business.

    The event will feature a mix of international artists and local artists including reggae legend Taurus Riley, world-renowned reggae group UB40, Saint Lucian artist Sherwin dupes Brice. Agnes Francis, chairperson of Events company SLU explained that Events company SLU is satisfied with the level of interest and enthusiasm being displayed for the Saint Lucia Roots and soul Festival. 

    “Every year we try to identify who we think will complement our lineup. We were looking for. We had gotten a lot of feedback last year when we did our surveys following roots and soul. What we did is an exit survey when people are leaving the park ad we asked who would be the top three persons they would like to see and ub 40 came out as the top and because of ub40 being a reggae band we had to look for other content to ensure that we had that roots and soul repertoire that we were looking for,” Francis indicates. 

   Francis explained that suggestions from the public have influenced the pricing and location of the event. “We’ve looked at pricing, pricing was another consideration and we’ve ensured that the price is more amenable to our local pocket. Pigeon island and the venue was one of the bigger recommendations to keep it there and we are doing so. So there were a few lessons that have shaped this year’s festival,” Francis notes. The Roots and Soul Festival will kick off with a soulful spoken word on the 23^rd August at the Ramp and will continue at the Saturday 24^th- Sunday 25^th with the mainstage events at the Pigeon Island National Landmark..