Former President of the Trinidad and Tobago Promoter’s Association, Jerome Precilla says while he cannot speak on the matter of the contractual arrangements made between the promoter of the One Caribbean Music Festival and Vybz Kartel, he is concerned that the situation may have left patrons very skeptical of promoters going forward.
In a social media post, Precilla shared that he is hopeful that people understand that there are a lot of reputable promoters in Trinidad and Tobago who have hosted many international artistes successfully, for many years. He says international artistes too, can rest assured that they can be properly accommodated and dealt with in Trinidad and Tobago. “We are guaranteeing international artistes that Trinidad and Tobago is a safe place to have your concerts – to come to Trinidad and Tobago to do it. Most of the International concerts with international and regional acts, they ram out and people come out to have a good time,” he said.
Precilla encouraged promoters to ensure contracts are in place with legal representation throughout the process. He called on patrons to throw support behind promoters in T&T, despite the unfortunate turn of events this past weekend, explaining that this isn’t a joke to most promoters, as they take care of their families thanks to the promotion industry.
Separately, some patrons who attended the One Caribbean Music Festival have called for a refund of their ticket money, citing the fact that the headline artiste, Vybz Kartel did not appear at the concert. Additionally, other advertised acts, Moliy from Ghana and Jamaica’s Sizzla Kalonji did not perform as advertised. Organisers meanwhile have indicated that unless the event was cancelled, tickets purchased were non refundable.
