Export Saint Lucia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture, and Information, is excited to announce that Saint Lucia’s vibrant Dennery Segment genre will be prominently featured at Dominica’s 24th World Creole Music Festival (WCMF). The festival, held at the Windsor Park Sports Stadium in Dominica from October 25-27, 2024, will include a special segment dedicated to this dynamic musical genre.
On Thursday, July 11, Export Saint Lucia and the Ministry of Tourism, alongside representatives from the Dominica World Creole Music Festival, hosted a joint press launch to unveil the Saint Lucian artists set to perform at the festival: Brendon Charlery, known by his stage name ‘Umpa,’ and Gervan Janvier, better known as ‘Subance.’
Commenting on this milestone, CEO of Export Saint Lucia, Ms. Sunita Daniel, highlighted the remarkable growth of the Dennery Segment genre over the past few years. “This musical genre has seen unprecedented growth over the last decade, accumulating millions of plays on streaming platforms and reaching markets as far as Japan. We are excited to have our artists featured in this year’s WCMF lineup and expect them to deliver an electrifying performance as always,” said Ms. Daniel.
Saint Lucia’s participation in the festival is supported by the Government of Saint Lucia through the Ministry of Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture, and Information. The government is committed to fostering the growth of the creative industries by providing artisans with opportunities to showcase their talents on the world stage.
Minister for Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture, and Information, Hon. Ernest Hilaire, expressed his enthusiasm for this collaboration. “As a government, we aim to see our creative industries blossom, and this is what we hope to achieve by granting our artisans every opportunity to expose their craft to the world. Hopefully, this collaboration opens new doors of opportunity between our two nations and sees more artists perform in the future,” noted Hon. Hilaire.
‘Umpa’ and ‘Subance’ have been integral to the inception and global promotion of the Dennery Segment genre, performing worldwide in markets such as Guadeloupe, Martinique, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and even Dubai. Their participation in WCMF 2024 is a testament to the genre’s expanding influence.