Saint Lucians are rightly excited by the return after three years of its annual Jazz and Arts Festival. In previous years many global music icons have graced the Pigeon Island stage.

Performers have included George Benson, Mary J. Blige, Boyz II Men, Ciara, En Vogue, Herbie Hancock, and Lauryn Hill, India. Arie, The Isley Brothers, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, John Legend, Mario, Branford Marsalis, Ne-Yo, Ocacia, Courtney Pine, Rihanna, Smokey Robinson, Santana, Trey Songz, Angie Stone, UB40, Luther Vandross, Amy Winehouse, American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner. The event is ranked second in the Caribbean after the Trinidad Carnival.

For 2023, the lineup will be headed by global star “Sting,” performing with Jamaican reggae and rap sensation Shaggy.

A Melting Pot of Music Genres

The 2023 Line Up

Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner CBE (born October 2, 1951), known as Sting, is an English musician and actor. He was the frontman, songwriter, and bassist for the new wave rock band “The Police” from 1977 until their breakup in 1986. He launched a solo career in 1985 and has included elements of rock, jazz, reggae, classical, new-age, and worldbeat in his music.

As a solo musician and a member of The Police, Sting has received 17 Grammy Awards: he won Song of the Year for “Every Breath You Take,” three Brit Awards, including Best British Male Artist in 1994 and Outstanding Contribution in 2002, a Golden Globe, an Emmy, and four nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. In 2019, he received a BMI Award for “Every Breath You Take,” becoming the most-played song in radio history.

In 2002, Sting received the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors and was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. 

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Police in 2003. In 2000, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for recording.

In 2003, Sting received a CBE from Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace for music services.

He was made a Kennedy Center Honoree at the White House in 2014 and was awarded the Polar Music Prize in 2017.

With The Police, Sting became one of the world’s best-selling music artists. Solo and with the Police combined, he has sold over 100 million records. 

He introduced the North African music genre raï to Western audiences through the hit song “Desert Rose” with Cheb Mami. In 2018, he released the album 44/876, a collaboration with Jamaican musician Shaggy, which won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 2019.