Feting ’til Mornin’ Come at Eyes Wide Shut 2017!
Countdown to the 2018 Anguilla Summer Festival
“We feting ‘til morning come!” No matter the time of the day, Anguillians love to fete. This year’s Eyes Wide Shut (EWS) “The Hangover” was just as the name implies — literally a hangover! The early morning event, held at the Sandy Ground ball field, was one of the wildest and most diverse events of the 2017 Anguilla Summer Festival in terms of its participation and attendance of persons.
The Hangover!
The ‘fore day morning’ showdown line up included: DJ Sparta; Synergy; Exodus HD; PVI; Kerwin Du Bois; DJ King Kembe & King Rumer from Sint Maarten; Kastro; DJ Blackmail; Kes the Band from Trinidad & Tobago and DJ Private Ryan. Not to forget, hosted by Anguilla’s very own DJ Jeanie.
DJ Sparta, still new to the game, is rising to become one of the most highly recognised deejays on the island. As a matter of fact, he was tasked with warming up the scene and setting the mood with a mixture of everything— from salsa to old school reggae to new school soca. He was the Robin to Batman – the ideal support system for DJ Jeanie to get crowd participation going.
Still hesitant, the crowd laid further in the back until the live entertainment began. DJ Jeanie finally introduced the first performance, Synergy – a new band formed right here in Anguilla. They hyped up the crowd and even brought the Kings of the Nation (KOTN) mascot on the stage.
None other than Exodus HD touched down on the stage next. Lighting up the stage with their presence, as always, caused the crowd to go wild. Spectators in the back marched up to the front of the stage to get ‘ah watah buss in dem face!’ It was like a recap of J’ouvert morning, except there were water bottles instead of water trucks.
Up next? The one and only PVI. It had been quite a while since the crowd had seen this band on a big stage especially for the carnival season. Pantha ran up on stage and sang some of his most favoured tunes namely “Free up yourself”, “Together”, “My Army” and more. By that time a full 4 hours had past and the sun was beginning to rise.
Fun! Fun! Fun!
Persons were feting non-stop! The drizzle of rain didn’t even stop the fun – consider it a slight shower of blessings for the ‘litments’ to follow!
The ideal setting featured three sections; namely the general zone, the fun zone which included its own bar and a pool and the VIP section. Eventually, the fun zone’s pool was put to use and the entire area was clouded with foam! Foam was flying from the pool, past the performers and crowd and into the distance.
Kerwin Du Bois then captivated us all with his upbeat spirit and sweet deliverance of music. He was definitely feeling the crowd and we were definitely feeling him. He had us form a circle while he sang his 2015 hit ‘Circles’. Coincidence? Of course not! The crowd was very responsive to his performance.
Sint Maarten’s very own, DJ King Kembe and King Rumer, hit the stage and without a doubt, their tracks had the crowd fully engaged. Who had no idea about the ‘Maggie’ dance, know it now and most likely would have gone home showing off their moves. And trust me, this dance was trending throughout the whole carnival!
You could bet that the hypeness never did lessen! Because “Summer cyan done” when Kes The Band hits the stage! As if cutting off his locs unleashed a whole new level to him, he set the crowd ablaze with excitement for his performance.
He definitely made it INCREDIBLE! Picture this! Waving hands in the air, fists pumping, slow wining, and “jumping up with my people!” It was a celebration. All persons wanted to do was “fete and carry on” and so said, so done! Kes owned that stage!
This was the Ultimate Day Break jump and I must say, it was amaaazing! Persons are already hype for next year’s “The Movie”. Truth be told, I described this year’s EWS as a movie but for the founders themselves to think that, “no, we can do it bigger”, just has me anticipating what more they have in store!
Stop playing yourself if you thought the jump was over! We still had DJ Private Ryan from Trinidad! And man, let me tell you! It’s a great feeling to go from listening to his mixes on Youtube to actually experiencing them live! We were on the speaker box! We were in the pool! We were everywhere, feeling every vibe from every section! And you know how it would have a feeling of separation when there’s different sections like Funzone, V.I.P and General? There was no differing feeling here! It was a waveee of excitement!
Say one, say two; Anguilla is a ‘tufffff’ crowd to entertain! And the way they supported, and reciprocated the energy the performers gave for Eyes Wide Shut 2017 was something to be commended for! Kudos to all the splendid performers and the founders of the event – O’leary Richardson, Tristan Harrigan and the Creative Entertainment Team. Keep doing di ting! Also, shout-out to Crispin Brooks for the dope name!
Co-edited: Ariel Bushay & Miggy Llorera
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