CASTRIES, ST.LUCIA . February 10, 2009: Considered by many to be St. Lucia’s next up and coming international event, the KALALU WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL has moved to a new date and format. Now relocated to the Easter Weekend, a favorite travel time for regional visitors and still on the cusp of the traditional tourist season, the Festival expects to attract even larger numbers of locals and visitors alike.

Building on a reputation for excellence established at its champagne inauguration back in July 2005, Kalalu will now present two action-packed evenings of superb entertainment featuring established and emerging artists from around the globe.

The St. Lucia Tourist Board, a prime partner of the Festival, has welcomed the change of date and will support marketing efforts with regionally promoted travel packages. Officials say the Festival is ideally situated to generate valuable new business during the long Easter weekend. Festival organizers are also hoping to capitalize on the influx of regional visitors associated with St. Lucia’s hosting of the Carifta Games over the Easter weekend.

Principal festival sponsors LIME and Heineken Music are reportedly also enthused. “…It’s a badge of honour for us to have Heineken supporting the festival from its inception even when there was no track record to bank on, says Augier, and we are especially proud to be deepening our partnership with LIME who have really embraced the festival even more firmly than before”.

Meanwhile, local patrons yearning for a unique musical experience will not be disappointed. KALALU has diversified its artistic content to include several extraordinary one-time collaborations between local and international headliners.

KALALU 4 promises a high-end menu of talent starting April 11, 2009. Gates open each evening with performances by costumed moko-jumbie dancers moving to energetic drumologies from Esoteric Drummers of St. Lucia. The first main-stage act will feature an all-star cast of local leads featuring Nicole David, Sally Elwin, Derek Yarde, Trevor Dornelly and the band Synergy, all in a musical collaboration created specially for Kalalu 4.

L’Addition – an act that has become a veritable addiction for Kalalu fans - will be a major feature again this year with another dynamic repertoire of dancer-friendly zouk and sizzling creole favorites. Zon Del Barrios - a funky New York-based ensemble of salsa and meringue extraction, will express the infectious rhythms inherited from their respective barrios of Latin America.

Also expected to appear is an unbeatable combination of Francophone talent in the persons of Tanya St. Val (Guadeloupe), Luc Leandry (Paris) and Grammacks star Jeff Joseph (Martinique) appearing with zouk band Panik out of Guadeloupe.

The Easter extravaganza continues with another local collaboration this time starring Luther Francois, Athanatius Laborde and new band Zambizi. Their afrocentric performance will be a fitting opener for Haja Madagascar & the Groovy People with their high energy combination of African and Malagasi traditional and contemporary rhythms.

Kalalu then presents top soukous performer Shimeta El Diego – renowned as the “James Brown” of the Congo. He appears with the famous Soukous Stars who will sustain KALALU’s now established West-African repertoire. Closing Sunday evening will be the award winning mega-artist Barrington Levy of Jamaican dancehall fame who will doubtless rock the Kalalu crowd with mega hits such as Work, Too Experienced, and Living Dangerously.

Consistent with its new format KALALU 2009 takes on all the ambiance of a classy open-air party - with drummers and dancers at the entrance, a food fair offering international cuisine, two entertainment stages, covered seating, tented food and beverage areas and a bazaar of gift stalls and craft booths. And, for those who want to dance through a weekend of konpa, reggae, zouk, boogaloo and salsa, also included will be an expansive 1200 square-foot dance floor.

According to Festival Producer Adrian Augier, ‘the Kalalu team is dedicated to producing a well-managed quality-conscious addition to St. Lucia’s tourism & entertainment product. We are focusing as usual, on meeting and exceeding our patrons’ expectations at a ticket price that offers exceptional value for money. We want all St. Lucians to be able to Come taste the music at Kalalu 4’. Tickets for the event go on sale at month-end priced at $60EC per person per night.