Award-winning soca collective Kes The Band, fronted by vocalist Kees Dieffenthaller, is celebrating the return of Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival after its absence for the past two years.
Kes The Band, which formed in 2005, consists of Kees, or Kes as he is popularly known, and his brothers, Hans (drums) and Jon (guitar) and old friend Riad Boochoon on bass guitar. All grew up in South Trinidad.
For the carnival season, the group is headed home, “back to where our dreams first appeared,” Kes said at a press conference to launch the IzWE 2023 concert, which saw media from across the Caribbean and guests others specially invited to attend.
The IzWE 2023 concert will take place on February 14 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, a multi-purpose stadium in Tarouba, San Fernando. Kes, who was the 2011 winner of the International Groovy Soca Monarch competition with the song No lens, and is featured in the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, previously held an event on the Tuesday before Carnival for many years called ‘Tuesday on the Rocks’. It has since been linked with a major performance by the artist. This year, Tuesday falls on Valentine’s Day, which he hopes will spark “more love between people.”
“What it really means is a homecoming to our roots and it’s about reminding not just Trinidad and Tobago but the whole human race that we are bound together through love, through the music we love and the energy we share together. through the things we celebrate,” Kes said.
He added that throughout the pandemic, although people were divided, music, and in particular the soca genre, “plays a major role in bringing people together and seeing the world divided, but still at a soca party people are social, happy – quite the opposite. – we realized that we needed to be at home and remind ourselves why we were doing this and what we were doing it for.” He said Kes The Band’s mission has been to break barriers, cross borders, connect the world through music as well as bridge the gap between generations and to achieve this in small steps, it was time to regroup.
“Trinbagonians in Jamaica and from different parts of the world all come to the carnival every year. They also connect with us online and when we do shows in their countries, [so] they are aware of what we are doing as some have experienced our shows over the years,” he said Gleaner.
“My time at home is something I love; it’s spent with family and I love the natural aspects of my country the rivers, beaches and forests, but exploring as much as I can, I experience the spirit of the people and it reminds me of the essence of our soul. Brian Lara Stadium is where my brothers and I grew up … doing our concert there is bringing everyone back to where we started. These are our roots.”
The concert lineup includes artists and performers from Trinidad and Tobago and across the region, from classics to rising stars. Some of Kesi’s unearthed names are Iwer George, Coutain, Lord Nelson, Haitian singer J Perry and Jamaican artiste Diamond Seller Shaggy who he recently collaborated with on a song titled Humor.
“A reunion will certainly happen. From the years of touring, I have grown to love and appreciate the fact that I am Caribbean. I feel connected to each island because we share similar histories and origins. I want the music and experience to represent the essence of who we all are as a Caribbean people – IzWE,” said Kes.
