weekly

6 St Barth Weekly n°236
St Barth Music Festival: Looking Ahead
With the 28th edition of
the St Barth Music Festival
well underway, there
are some exciting events
on the horizon. The first
week featured the usual
roster of all-star musicians
playing and
singing together at one
of the most unusual festivals
in the world. But
Frances Debroff, festival
director, still has some
tricks up her sleeve. The
biggie is the free rock
concert on the dock, Saturday,
January 21 at
7pm. One might ask
Schedule
Saturday, January 21 - 7pm
Gustavia Pier Free
Free rock concert with
Aerosmith’s Brad Whitford
and Russ Irwin, Jonny Lang,
Chris Layton, Scott Nelson,
and Friends.
Friday, January 27 - 8pm
Ajoe, Lorient €30
Dancers from the Paris
Opera Ballet.
Saturday, January 28 - 8pm
Ajoe, Lorient €30
Dancers from the Paris
Opera Ballet,
what a rock concert is
doing on the schedule
for a classical music festival,
but since the program
includes jazz and
ballet, well why not? So
in typical festival style
it’s not just any rock
band, but a group of all
stars featuring Brad
Whitford of Aerosmith
on guitar, along with
Russ Irwin on keyboards
(who has played with
Aerosmith, Sting, Bryan
Adams…); Johnny Lang
(Grammy Award-winning
American blues,
gospel, and rock musician
from the Jimi Hendrix
Experience); Scott
Nelson (bass, guitar and
keyboards who has
played with ZZ Top and
Willie Nelson); and
drummer Chris Layton
(who played with Stevie
Ray Vaughan). You’d
have to ask DeBroff how
she lined up such a band,
but they here with road
manager Donny Wightman
and guitar tech/production
supervisor Marco
Moine, working with
Alex Bendahan, the festival’s
senior sound technician
and recording engineer,
who is also collaborating
with the Saint
Barth Film Festival to
produce a documentary
on the island’s traditional
music. Production values
should be high with a rig
from Storm Lighting and
Eric Masson’s professional
sound gear
(including a Yamaha
M7CL digital console).
“This gear will allow a
really cool mix,” says
Bendahan. “The concept
Chris Layton
rehearsing with the
All Star Band
in Saint Barth
is for a full, clean mix,
but not offensively loud.
We have enough equipment
to make this happen.”
The band is expected
to play a two-hour set
including 20 songs from
the various bands represented.
The Saint Barth
Harmony Music School
will open the concert,
which is part of the festival’s
endowment campaign,
whose goal is to
raise 7.5 million dollars
to ensure the future of the
festival. Now that’s looking
ahead.