Barrington for Kees concert

The extensive Caribbean cast was revealed at a press conference hosted by the popular band of brothers at the Kaiso Blues Cafe on Woodford St in Newtown, Port-of-Spain last week.

At the event, lead singer Kees Dieffenthaller revealed that it was a dream come true to share the stage with acts he had grown up listening to and was still inspired by today.

“We grew up listening to everything - all different types of music,” he said, “but we liked rock a lot and as budding musicians we aspired to have our own band, so when I heard these acts from Barbados come in singing so sweetly like rock stars, it gave me inspiration to think about soca and calypso in another kind of way. To this day, we’re all still inspired by their legacy and we wanted to celebrate it this year as part of our mission through music.” In keeping with the celebration of Bajan talent and influence, Daryl “Farmer Nappy” Henry and The Red Boyz band will be the opening act for the concert, which will also feature appearances by reigning Soca Monarch Aaron “Voice” St Louis; multiple Road March and Soca Monarch producer, Kernal Roberts; former Chandileer and Atlantik vocalist turned mas band leader, Ronnie McIntosh; the granddaughter of soca music creator, Ras Shorty I, Nailah Blackman; and 2017 party starters, MX Prime and Ultimate Rejects.

Dieffenthaller also explained that the event was designed specifically “to showcase the band’s versatility and preference for musical diversity.

“We always aspired to be different and from our humble beginnings we made sure to release music that defied expectations and definitions and above all else music that made us happy to create and to perform and share with others.

After a few years on the Carnival circuit, we started getting frustrated because we realised that on most Carnival stages we couldn’t perform all our songs, so we created Tuesday on the Rocks as a place where we could do whatever we wanted but still represent in the Carnival space.” Dieffenthaller and his “brothers”, Hans, Jon, Riad Boochoon, Mario Callender and Ricardo Rameshwar performed an acoustic set of their latest releases at the launch, following official addresses by: Question Mark Entertainment CEO, Simon Baptiste; Digicel’s senior sponsorship officer, Christopher Edmond and Kees.

Rupee who was at the launch said it was an honour to perform at at the concert alongside his friends and family. He said: “Every time I come to Trinidad, I am always blessed with so much love and respect. I’ve watched the growth and development of Kes The Band over the years and I salute them for making their own way and making their own space in Carnival.

It’s an honour for me to be a part of their experience and to perform at Tuesday on the Rocks alongside my brothers and sisters from Barbados, Trinidad, Jamaica and the Caribbean region.”