News of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

St. Johnians CAN dance

If there was any question, there isn't now.

Three months ago, Pierre Dulaine and developers of the Pond Bay resort announced a program of dance classes for the island's fifth graders.  Last weekend, it was graduation time.

Dulaine, founder of the American Ballroom Dance Studio, hosted the 'finals,' a ballroom dance competition at the St. John Westin.  The evening was called St. John's first annual Colors of the Rainbow Team Match and it brought out a huge crowd of watchers and a talented group of dancers.

One person on the sidelines said the evening "wildly popular with the largest cross collection or mix of island demographics that I’ve seen at any single indoor island event."

The Inquiring Iguana offers many kudos to Dulaine and his instructors who ran the classes from September to December; to Pond Bay and its developer Bob Emmett for funding the project, and to the students and their parents and loved ones for their focus, hard work and energy.

Click on any image to see a larger version.

The photos were made available by Bob Schlesinger, a photographer who specializes in family gatherings and weddings. He says he delivers "Extraordinary images with an island flair!" His Web site is www.TropicalFocus.com)

• Here's our original story about the kickoff of the Dulaine classes.

New tunes at the Beach Bar

Jazz VI is the quintet carrying on the tradition of Sunday afternoon music and good times at the Beach Bar. 

Founded years ago by St. John’s Steve Simon, the  4 p.m-7:30 p.m. island-wide meet-up draws locals, cruise shippers, campers and everyone else to gather around the BB’s four-sided bar.  Good times, good conversations, new friends make it the place to be at least once when you’re visiting.

PS ... there is now a Beach Bar theme song ... hear it on the Web site, www.beachbarstjohn.com.

Steve Simon has turned over the Beach Bar to Jazz VI, partly because he’s doing more and more to evangelize the blues around the world.  He’s just announced he’ll be producing the first annual Charleston Blues Festival in February.  Performers include Shemekia Copeland, Zac Harmon, aka ‘The Soul of the Delta’, and Billy Gibson, aka ‘The Prince of Beale Street.’

Steve Simon, playing at the Pyramids

Bluzapalooza is taking another road trip.

This time its to the U.S. Naval base in Sicily, then a command performance at the Pyramids, the Cairo Opera House and Cairo-American University.

Steve Simon, the island’s foremost musician and concert promoter, said his Bluzapalooza V will last 10 days, October 21 through November 1.

“No matter what I have ever done for a living, my heart and soul have always been in the Blues,” Simon said.  “I have dedicated the rest of my life to bringing America’s greatest music to new audiences all over the world. The Blues keeps me alive!”

Special guests on “The Pizza and Pyramid Tour” include Zac Harmon, Deanne Bogart, and Terry ‘Harmonica’ Bean.

When he’s not touring the world promoting the Blues, Simon can often be found at the Beach Bar on Sunday afternoons leading the Jazz Islanders band.

Bluzapalooza's Web site.

Inner Visions returns to Maine

For the fourth year in a row, St. John’s Inner Visions is taking its reggae to the coastal Maine village of Damariscotta, an hour and fifteen minutes northwest of Portland. 

Why is a bunch of guys in dreadlocks playing music with an infectious beat there?  The Damariscotta River Association, in a statement, said the band is back “by popular demand ...(to) shake it up with their electrifying vibe, infectious rhythms, and tight vocal harmonies.” Click here to hear a sample of the band’s previous appearances.

Natty B, who owns a CD store in the region, explained, “We don't get much diversity of culture around here. Inner Visions brings something new to us.”

The band is headlining the Great Salt Bay Music festival on Sunday.  The afternoon will feature what the DRA called “Caribbean food and spirits, a fresh oyster bar” and “Alternative energy displays and demonstrations, including the ceremonial “flipping of the switch” for DRA’s new wind generator.

After the Damariscotta concert, Inner Visions continues its summer tour of the U.S. with stops in Woodstock, New York, Asheville, N.C., and Lafayette, La.

Blues Festival lineup announced

The 8th annual St. John Blues Festival is scheduled March 17-21.  This year, the name sponsor is Johnnie Walker.  Other supporters include First Bank, Holiday Homes, and the USVI Department of Tourism.

Organizer and founder (he really is a busy guy) Steve Simon and his wife, Helen, will offer six-days of music from one end of the island to the other. The ‘big show’ will, as usual be in Coral Bay on Saturday night.  But during the week, you can count on Festival performers offering free live music at venues like the Beach Bar, Shipwreck Landing, and the ball field in Cruz Bay.

Simon has a lineup of artists including Deanna Bogart, JT Laureitsen, the Ford Blues Band, and  E,G. Knight.  See the full list at http://www.stjohnbluesfestival.com/new/schedule2010.htm#schedule.

Simon, who’s also produced and performed in blues shows in Iraq and Saudi Arabia said this is the biggest thing he’s ever done.  And, he promised, it will rock.

The Blues Festival’s Web site is at http://www.stjohnbluesfestival.com/bf/blueshome.htm.

New Chesney album, Letterman appearance

St. John’s Kenny Chesney does Letterman Tuesday night to mark the release of his new CD, “Greatest Hits II.”  He’ll sing a song from the album, “Out Last Night.”   That track has already been released as a single.

"I've heard it coming out of a few car radios and it makes me feel like summer,” Chesney has said. “You know, some songs just make you smile when you hear it ... maybe because I remember all the fun my buddies and I got in that night.”

Amazon link to the CD

Big weekend on a little island

A triple-header of activities drew hundreds of locals and visitors to the Beach Bar, the Sprauve School playground, and Mongoose Junction over the weekend.

The fun began with the 9th annual Minimal Regatta on the waterfront, an annual competition which requires competitors to build a watercraft out of not much more than nuts, twigs and Styrofoam.  About eight people entered the Beach Bar event this year.  Despite the fact their ‘boats’ could include little more than a sheet of plywood, some boards, nails and duct tape, a good time was had by all who launched and sailed their craft. None were lost at sea.

In the afternoon, it was on to Wagapalooza, the Animal Care Center-sponsored island dog show.  The St. John Source estimated 250 people attended and watched 39 dogs compete for fun and prizes.  The traditional “Wagometer” was the arbiter for awards, measuring the loudness of the audience’s applause.  Check back here later for pictures.

The nightcap was Music in the Moonlight at Mongoose Junction.  Michelle Wicklund blogged that a variety of artists sang and played several songs each, and “There were tons of people there.”

The Blues Boss's trip report

Steve Simon, the dynamo behind the Beach Bar's Sunday afternoon Jazz Islanders and the producer of the annual Blues Festival has gone international in the past few years.  He has organized tours of blues musicians to perform for US troops in the Middle East  A few weeks ago he returned from Egypt.

I contacted Steve to ask if we could do an interview.  He said he'd be traveling for a few weeks, but did a 'self interview" and e-mailed it to The Inquiring Iguana.

What made you decide to do a BLUZAPALOOZA concert tour to Egypt?

A few months ago I was contacted by Margaret Scobey, the U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, and she had just read about our BLUZAPALOOZA celebrity Blues concert tours to Iraq. Having been born and raised in Memphis Tennessee, she (said she) was a certified 'Bluesaholic' and would love to arrange for me to bring a tour to Cairo.

I told her that I would have to get permission from the Department of Defense and the State Department but that I thought that would not be too difficult given my history with both organizations. Upon contacting DOD and State, I was immediately given the "green light."

Where did you entertain in Egypt?

Our first concert was at the Cairo Opera House on Friday evening, March 27th and we performed in front of a standing room only audience of over 4,000 people.  Most of our audience were Egyptians who had been invited by our Embassy and most of them were government officials and major business leaders.

The next evening we performed at the recreational facility of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and that performance was for the Embassy staff and their families.  We had about 450 in attendance and it was held outdoors.

Blues Festival '09 - a Night to Remember

Four outstanding bands and singers rocked the Coral Bay ball field and the island of St. John last weekend.

The 7th annual St. John Blues Festival, co-sponsored by Johnnie Walker and produced by island musical genius Steve Simon, drew hundreds to Coral Bay for a concert, as well as more people to Cruz Bay during the week as musicians performed at restaurants and bars.

Each year, Simon's efforts bring more musicians to St. John, amping up the entertainment.  And, for him, there is no rest.  The day after the festival's climax concert in Coral Bay, Simon and some of the musicians were Middle East-bound for another Bluzapalooza tour, including a sold out appearance in Cairo.

But just as the Festival gets better every year, so too does the 'reporting' by Steve Simonsen, the world class photographer.  His festival web site this year includes audio clips from the musicians' recordings and marvelous photo slide shows of each performance.  There must be hundreds of great shots.  See them here.

Festival Web site: http://www.stjohnbluesfestival.com/bf/blueshome.htm

What are you doing New Year’s?

On or Off island, there will be lots of celebratin’ going on Wednesday night.

St. John’s Cool Session Brass will headline the two-day-long party at Foxy’s on Jost Van Dyke.  The self-styled “Times Square of the BVI’s” will also feature Zac Harmon and Eric Stone on Old Year’s Night.  There will be ferry service from St. John.  Adult beverages available will include four brews, made from pure Caribbean waters as well as the legendary Pain Killer, Dread Fox, and  Sly Fox libations. One small bar, one great party, they say.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch ... er ... island ...the St. John Sun Times reports how bars and restaurants will be making merry.  Among them, Paradiso is hosting a Black and White Ball.  A DJ will make the music, and there will be a dessert buffet and martinis.

Morgan’s Mango will pour champagne, free, from 11:30 p.m. to 1 a.m, with dancing beginning at 11 p.m.  Skinny Legs will start rocking at 8 p.m. with the music  of Work of Art.

The Inquiring Iguana and Mrs. I.I. will spend the evening celebrating their wedding anniversary.