8. St. Kitts Music Festival (Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis, June 26-28)
PHOTO: Daryl Charles
The concert season in the Caribbean winds down after the winter and spring, but there’s a few big shows in the summer as well. As usual, one of the biggest and most diverse lineups can be found at the St. Kitts Music Festival. The first two days are all about soca and raw reggae with Machel Montano, Beenie Man, Destra, Explainer, Skinny Fabulous, Capleton, Tarrus Riley and the St. Kitts debut of Chronixx—plus the king of merengue fusion, Elvis Crespo—while the last day features Freddie McGregor and Tessanne Chin and jazz performances from Deniece Williams, Bobby Kimball and Bill Champlin. You can also get a taste for local St. Kitts sounds via local legends, Small Axe Band.