THE RIHANNA LOUD concert scheduled for Barbados on August 5 is coming at the wrong time, says veteran bandleader Mackie Holder.
The show should have been slated for September or October “when Barbados is dead”, Holder said.
His concern is that Rihanna Loud is competing with the Crop Over Festival season.
He said that the show was forcing festival patrons to refrain from spending money during the festival “because they got to be ready to go see Rihanna”.
“There is only so much money to go round and there are people who say they are saving their money to go to Rihanna.”
He continued: “If you talk to other promoters they are going to tell you the same thing; people have to make choices. The price of the Rihanna tickets isn’t exactly cheap. Crop Over is down, tents are down and bands are down. Events are happening but there is only so much money to go [around].”
However, the president of the Barbados Association of Masqueraders (BAM), Roger Millar, does not agree with Holder and thinks his views are “ludicrous”.
Millar said that the date of the concert was good timing because after Crop Over climaxes, “there is still going to be a buzz in Barbados leading up to the concert”.
He believes that the concert “is the beginning of something good for this country”.
“This could be an extension of the festivities at this time of the year. Not necessarily an extension of Crop Over, but a music concert at the end of the Crop Over season.
“This concert could be the climax of visitors’ summer experience to the island,” said Millar, adding that “there has never been a concert, but bands have complained in the past about things being slow”.
Agreeing with Millar is leader of the Power X 4 band Chetwin Stewart.
Stewart is of the opinion that Rihanna is an international star and authorities in Barbados cannot determine her agenda.
“If this is the only time they can bring her, then this is the only time they can bring her. The Rihanna concert is not just about tickets. The Rihanna concert is going to pour money into a number of sectors across the island.
“A woman who is going to that concert is going to go into Bridgetown and buy a new dress, shoes, accessories and then she is going to hit the salon. The men are going to get new wear and are going to visit the barber shop,” said Stuart. (AH)
