MusicTT has partnered with Therapy to bring Caribbean music to South by South West Conference and Festivals’ (SXSW) ‘The Island Stage’. This is the first time that SXSW will be hosting a virtual event in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and ‘The Island Stage’ is dedicated to bringing music of the Caribbean to the forefront of the international music scene. The show, which will be captured in Jamaica, and streamed by SXSW between 16th – 20th March 2021.

The annual SXSW champions the vitality, innovation and opportunity that drives entertainment and media. It is an opportunity for international music executives, producers and managers, to network, learn, grow and combine cross-country efforts toward a more developed, well connected global music industry.

The SXSW Online digital experience will feature conference keynotes and sessions, film screenings, music showcases, networking, and exhibitions from March 16 – March 20, 2021. Each showcase gives SXSW Online passholders the opportunity to experience tomorrow’s headliners at unique venues in the artists’ home countries through a premium viewing experience, with streaming available via web, mobile, and the SXSW Online Connected TV app (Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku, Samsung TV Plus, and Android TV). Select content will be viewable in VR via SXSW Online XR.

Caption: Official Artists Khalia, Tessellated, Sevana and Kalpee
Photo credit: Shasta-Lee Smith

‘The Island Stage’ boasts an A-List line-up pioneered by emerging local artiste Kalpee and his management team FVP Global, with a joint aim to create a platform for artists to come together and represent music of the Caribbean. Kalpee, who will be hosting the stage, will also be performing alongside genre-bending Jamaican artist Tessellated known for his “Pine & Ginger” smash hit with over 30 million streams, Mortimer, Sevana, Khalia and others.

General Manager at Music TT, Melissa Jimenez states: “MusicTT is super excited to have partnered with Kalpee and Therapy to help deliver ‘The Island Stage’. Thank you to SXSW for including the Caribbean with such prominence and for recognizing the wealth of talent – giving us a voice with global reach. I look forward to the doors that will be opened through this partnership and the wave of infinite possibilities created for both rising and established artistes in T&T and the wider Caribbean.”

By working together with Therapy and utilizing such platforms like SXSW, MusicTT can help bridge the gap between the international music industry and the Caribbean Diaspora and, in doing so, be strategically aligned. This is needed in order to form a united front to pushing Trinbagonian artists on global, internationally recognized stages.