Bank of Saint Lucia, gold sponsor of Jazz in the South once again assisted the Soufriere Regional Development Foundation and Labowi Promotions in staging yet another spectacular year. Bank of Saint Lucia has in the past made a valuable contribution to the communities in the South of the island and continues to do so not just as a sponsor but as a corporate partner.

Mrs Maria Fowell, Senior Manager-Marketing & Corporate Communications of East Caribbean Financial Holding Company Limited parent company of Bank of Saint Lucia, felt that supporting Jazz in the South leads to the creation of linkages from which these communities can benefit. The ECFH mission statement requires that the Group serve as a catalyst for development and certainly the decentralization of Jazz will have a positive impact on St Lucia’s development.

The Soufriere Regional Development Foundation presented Soufriere Creole Jazz for the second year under the Theme "Fostering Economic Social & Cultural Development". This year the foundation increased the number of venues to four but this in no way diluted the quality of the offerings. The first show was held at the Old Trafford Field where hundreds flocked to sample local and foreign acts. Patrons were treated to music from many different genres, from Dwayne Prosper with his cool R&B sounds to the Mexican band Senior Mandril with its Latin beats. The show had a "home town" feel as the line-up comprised of the likes of Family Affair, SOS and Top Dog some young but very promising dancers, all from Soufriere.

The second event was held at Fond Gens Libre and featured Dezagweyab, SOS and Top Dog and closed with the Addition Band. This was the first time that Soufriere Creole Jazz was held at this venue and was a success from all indications. Soufriere Market Jazz continues to add a different flavour as it is the only show on the Jazz calendar which takes place in the morning. It adds a different dimension to the Jazz Festival where patrons can experience the sounds of jazz while shopping at the market. This year the lineup included the Sulphur Stars and Clive Butcher Shak Shak.

The grand finale of Soufriere Creole Jazz was held fittingly at the Sulphur Springs: one of Saint Lucia’s many natural wonders. It featured the sounds one of the newest and talented bands on the island, Ken Hardy and the Soul Dreads. Their floetic performance was superb, and definitely warranted the encore. The violinists and accompanying percussions no doubt added to the unique sounds of this new band. Meshach was a crowd favourite; he certainly kept the audience on their feet with popular songs like Mr Greedy Jo and Ethiopian Princess. The event culminated with the perennial band Quavers which definitely gave a good performance.

Jazz in the South continued on Sunday with Labowi Promotion’s signature event at the Rudy John Beach Park in Laborie. The event has become a fixture on the calendar in the south and has proven to be an excellent venue. This year featured the likes of the Laborie Steel Pan Project, the Rupert Lay Quartet, Extra Luv featuring Barbara Cadet and the Zouk Metal Band out of Martinique, Bamboolaz. The event was very well organized by Labowi Promotions and the lineup brought a true sense of the St Lucia Jazz Festival to Laborie.

Once again the Soufriere Regional Development Foundation and Labowi Promotions have outdone themselves. The fusion of foreign and local artistes made for a very exciting line up of events and Jazz in the South was a success for yet another year. Bank of Saint Lucia’s gold sponsorship of Jazz in the South is just another step in fulfilling its corporate social responsibility philosophy of enriching lives!