The two-year absence of Trinidad and Tobago’s carnival is being celebrated by award-winning Soca group Kes The Band, fronted by vocalist Kees Dieffenthaller.
Kees, or Kes as he is well known, is joined by his brothers Hans (on drums) and Jon (on guitar), as well as longtime friend Riad Boochoon, who plays bass guitar, to create Kes The Band, which was founded in 2005. All of them grew up in South Trinidad.
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During a press conference to announce the IzWE 2023 performance, which was attended by reporters from around the Caribbean and other specially invited visitors, Kes stated that the group is returning home for the carnival season, “back to where our dreams first manifested.”
The IzWE 2023 concert will happen on February 14 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, a multipurpose stadium in Tarouba, San Fernando. Kes, who was the 2011 winner of the International Groovy Soca Monarch competition with the single Wotless, and has been featured in the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, previously held an event on the Tuesday before carnival for many years called ‘Tuesday on the Rocks’. It has since been associated with a big show from the artiste. This year, the Tuesday happens to fall on Valentine’s Day which he hopes will spark “more love amongst the people”.
“What this really means is, it is a homecoming back to our roots and it is about reminding not just Trinidad and Tobago, but the whole human race that we are connected together through love, through the music we love and the energy we share together through the things we celebrate,” Kes said.
Soca music, in particular, “played a pivotal role to bring persons together and seeing the world divided but yet in a soca party persons are social, happy – quite the opposite – we realized we needed to be home and sort of remind ourselves why were are doing this and what we are doing it for,” he continued. It was time to reorganize, he argued, since Kes The Band had succeeded in bridging the generational divide while also attempting to break down barriers, traverse borders, and link the world via music.
The Gleaner media noted, “Trinbagonians in Jamaica and from places around the world all come to Carnival every year. They as well connect with us online and when we do shows at their locations, [so] they are aware of what we’re up to as some have experienced our shows over the years.”
“My time at home is something I cherish; it is spent with family and I enjoy the natural aspects of my country the most, the rivers, beaches and forests but while exploring all that I can, I experience the soul of the people and it reminds me of the essence of our spirit. The Brian Lara Stadium is in the place where my brothers and I grew up … doing our concert there is bringing everyone back to the place where we started. That is our roots.”
The lineup for the event includes established and up-and-coming artists and entertainers from Trinidad and Tobago and the rest of the region. Iwer George, Coutain, Lord Nelson, Haitian singer J Perry, and Jamaican diamond-selling superstar Shaggy are a few of the names Kes shared. The two recently worked together on the song Mood.
“A reunion is certainly going to happen. From years of touring, I’ve grown to love and cherish the fact that I am Caribbean. I feel connected to every island because we share similar stories and origins. I want the music and experience to represent the essence of who we all are as Caribbean people – IzWE,” Kes shared.
