Tobago Gourmet Jazz Festival kicks off with bang

Despite a late start and fears that the opening night would be a bust with only 300 patrons, by the time R&B sensation Angie Stone appeared onstage the crowd had swollen to approximately 3,000.

Stone would later in an interview recall being "blown away" by the reception that her music had received and that "my work and music were transcending boundaries."

The audience joined the ‘soulful sista’ in doing the freeze and the soul clap as she sang some of her signature songs like "I wish I Didn’t Miss You Anymore," "Black Brother" and "No More Rain."

And then the "madness" started when the energetic Machel Montano came on the stage with his electrifying antics sending the mellow crowd into a frenzy. As usual the fans just couldn’t get enough of the "winer boy" and neither could Machel as he announced after his performance that he wouldn’t have refused five extra minutes onstage. The artistes were scheduled to perform for half an hour, however the big acts performed for almost one hour.

Ladies Man, "Mr Bombastic Lover" Shaggy followed captivating both male and female with his hip-thrusting moves and jogging pleasant memories with hits like "Carolina" and "Strength of A Woman." Despite a few technical complications he managed to deliver a riveting performance.

Royalty in the form of King Michael David Rudder brought the show to a mellow end just after 3 am yesterday. The other acts, the Tobago All Star Jazz Band, Darryl Sheppard and Michael Boothman were by no means shabby as they too contributed to setting the mood for the varied music lovers, including some of the other artistes like Natalie Cole who had arrived on the island on Thursday but is expected to perform today.

Last night’s show was anticipated to be more spectacular with a line up that include R&B veteran Baby Face and the O’Jays.

Today’s headliner is the seventh World Wonder Stevie Wonder.