Kes the Band’s flagship concert Tuesday on the Rocks has evolved into an all-out music festival and will not only feature Kees Dieffenthaller’s myriad of soca hits, but also an array of artistes from multiple musical genres; both local and international.
This year’s edition, entitled IzWe 2023, is designed to showcase the nation’s multiculturalism and artistic versatility through music, food and craft.
Additionally, this will be the first year the annual show is being held in south Trinidad, at Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba, on February 14.
Lead singer Dieffenthaller, who hails from Palmiste, San Fernando, “dreamt” of one day, hosting his concert “back at home” in the southland.
Since its first annual concert in 2014, which bore the namesake of its song, Tuesday on the Rocks, the concert was always held in north.
[caption id="attachment_1000364" align="alignnone" width="1024"] - courtesy Overtime Media[/caption]
On bringing his musical spectacle to south, Dieffenthaller said, “It’s surreal because we spent a lot of days in south dreaming about travelling the world with music and taking over town (Port of Spain) and all kinda thing.
“To really make full circle and have an opportunity to do our major flagship show in San Fernando is an honour to really come back and give south something special. People usually go to Port of Spain but it’s great to have the opportunity to come back down south. We coming home.”
Dieffenthaller said the last time he held a “major show” in south was during his Presentation College San Fernando days, over two decades ago, where he and his friends put on a concert in the school’s auditorium featuring a mixture of musical genres.
“It’s nice, it’s nice to go full circle and come back to where it started, take stock of what work we put in throughout the years and have fun with it now, in Sando.”
IzWe 2023 will feature two stages and three zones – Courtyard (the village/immersive concert experience), VIP Under the Stars (ultimate feteing experience) and VVIP Garden of Eden (premium concierge experience) – for patrons.
On his transition from Tuesday on the Rocks to IzWe 2023, Dieffenthaller said the band, collectively, wanted to expand on their aspirations for the concert.
“We kinda wanted to grow out of the Tuesday on the Rocks aspect; it being just about the song and Kes the Band.
“Although it’s our flagship concert, the idea and the aim to really develop it further into a festival, where it’s more than just our music, but what we present. We want to touch all the aspects of TT’s music which is not just soca.
[caption id="attachment_1000376" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Kees Dieffenthaller and Kes the Band perfroming at CIC Fete - JORDON BRIGGS[/caption]
“The two stages can cater to a range of sound, and be able to expand the sound in a way that, if you’ve never experienced Trinidad’s music before, when you come to IzWe, you’re going to get a range of music, not just what
