courtesy of: The Morning News
By Rosalie Klein
Memorial Day weekend is a soulful experience on Aruba, as the Soul Beach Music Festival again takes over Surfside Beach and other venues for exciting parties, concerts and media encounters broadcast worldwide. Thousands arrived on Aruba to immerse themselves in the Soul Beach experience, many of them asserting they couldn’t consider any other way to spend the holiday weekend.
Concerts began on Friday evening, May 25, with headliners Aries Spears, Tony Roberts and Gin Yashere rocking the Aruba Entertainment Center with laughter, ably assisted by MC Rudy Rush and charming young comic Chase Anthony. The jokes kept coming, with humorous look at anything from toilet training your child to hazarding a flight with Nigerian Airlines, both equally daunting tasks.
Saturday night switched to the Surfside Beach and the soulful sounds of Ledisi, who had the crowd jumping one moment, or cuddling with the companion the next, as she performed her vast repertoire. The audience has been amply warmed up by a special performance by a new group consisting of Aruban musicians and vocalists who have achieved international renown; Lead Singer Roger Peterson mixed it up with some of the island’s best musicians, including Hildward Croes, who spent over ten years touring with Juan Luis Guerra and Chi Chi Peralta. They delivered an original mix of music rooted in the Caribbean.
Dynamic LL Cool J rounded out the first two concerts with a heart pounding performance of his hip-hop commentary, turning it smooth and sexy just for the ladies by the end of his show.
Everyone who came to Aruba for the holiday weekend and the festival was feeling the vibes of friends, fun and funk in paradise.
