Karukera One Love Festival or a stormy Karibbean rendezvous
Here’s my take on the Karibbean Rendezvous / Karukera One Love festival in Torcy, France.
I was going to talk about it only in my year-end #streamcaribbean podcast review, but I thought it would be interesting to talk about it beyond the musical aspect. Let's talk business because that's what left me with a bitter taste. I didn't do a Twitter recap like I usually do because I want to stay positive in all my subjectivity*.
Disclaimer: I’m convinced that artists from Guadeloupe and Martinique can get international recognition. Yes, there are structural problems in our music industry (which I believe can be overcome), but that's not my point here. For me, the connection with the public is the most important and the "easiest" lever to use so that the Caribbean finally has the financial benefits it deserves when our cultures have been a thriving force in the international cultural industry for over a century. I will come back to the why and how of this lever in my Karukerament series of articles on cultural marketing, because I never see anyone talk about the relationship with the public unless it is to say "the Caribbean public is the most difficult in the world", "the Caribbean public does not support" or "the Caribbean public criticizes everything for no reason". The last statement may be justified in some cases, but for this event on September 10th, some things need to be said. This lack of communication strategy leaves me even more puzzled when this festival has (had?) such a solid reputation. Besides, it was announced as THE closing festival of summer 2022 after the mishaps of the All Day In festival in Guadeloupe and the Baccha festival in Martinique a few weeks ago ... Really, I don’t get it.
Nice intentions but…
There was a will to create a pleasant environment for the festival-goers. The security and cleaning teams, public bathrooms, a diversified food court, playgrounds... Everything was prepared for people to have a good time. I stayed on the hill overlooking the stage in the water to keep an overview. Around me, there was no overflow, no aggressiveness. The vibe was chill. I didn't feel oppressed at all and people were respectful of each other's space. Except for a guy who, at the beginning of the afternoon, was running all over the hill and had to be told to stop wining on women without their consent, I really have no incident to report.
Despite the big crowd and the rain that made the ground muddy, we could easily walk around. And the people on the beach or in the water were living their best life. Nevertheless, I'm not convinced by the choice to hold such a big festival in a place that’s so difficult to access by public transport in the Ile-de-France region... At least when you care about the satisfaction of the after-sales service...
… A lack of communication with the audience
I bought my festival tickets + the shuttle ticket to see Patrice Roberts, Elephant Man, KRYS and Triple Kay on stage... The lineup schedule was announced earlier in the week. The artists' show was supposed to end at 11 pm... I'll revisit KRYS' performance in my year-end review podcast (if you listened to our discussion, you already have an idea of what I thought). I also salute Original H and Hoodcelebrityy. I only knew them by name but they gave a great performance.
At the beginning of the afternoon, I felt that there was something bad going on when DJ Dankers started to ensure transitions between DJs sets or even introduce artists... I was even more confused when the two MCs greeted the public in the middle of the afternoon, but they were on stage only like twice afterwards and they did nothing but asked us to wave our flags ... I mean a festival MC is supposed to introduce all the artists, right? In order to let the audience know what to expect? In any case, it would have been necessary here**. Guadeloupean artist KRYS is the only one who got a proper introduction, but he's the one who literally didn't need it. That being said, the artists could always introduce themselves... And that's where the lack of set design could be felt. VJ Ben had the richest and most diverse set but also the most poorly presented. Maybe not for people on the beach. But from my overview perspective, the overall performance lacked fluidity. Anyway, that’s a discussion for another day.
Despite the rain until 6 pm, I was still in high spirits for the other three artists I wanted to see. Except that the clock was ticking. We went from one DJ set to another. As exceptional as were the performances of DJ Osocity and DJ Dankers (nowhere was it written that he would mix in the evening), where were the artists for whom I had made the trip? At 10 pm, that is to say, 1 hour before the scheduled end, we were announced that Elephant Man would not be there... They played a video message with no sound. On his IG story, we saw him in a concert in front of a big crowd elsewhere, though... No announcement for Patrice Roberts and Ricardo Drue (their performance got postponed to Day 2). Anyway, the bouyon lineup started at 10:30 pm and we were told just before that the shuttles were there... So I left without seeing Triple Kay. I could have said to myself "if I had driven here, I could have stayed". Some people took over an hour to leave the parking lot afterward... I have no regrets. I wouldn't have had the patience.
in Conclusion
I didn’t go to Day 2. For personal reasons. But I didn't resell my place on principle. I don't support the way the public was treated. And apparently, even with the good weather, Day 2 also had some chaos, especially during Shenseea’s performance. She was the headliner, but her set got shortened because of technical issues. Allegedly. If at least the organizers had handled their communication strategy, their management decisions wouldn’t be rightfully questioned. At the time of writing this article, there is still no official explanation of what happened.
Again, I’m not writing all of this to be a hater just for the sake of it. Weather conditions can’t be controlled. Lineup changes happen. And these changes can happen at the last minute too. The public can understand. Especially since the DJs have really compensated well. However, what about the way the public was left in the dark about what was going on? What about the way the connection with the public wasn’t maintained throughout the afternoon during the transitions between the sets? It's normal that the audience booed when asked to send love to Elephant Man... And what about the way a legendary band like Triple Kay loses a part of their audience because the schedule wasn’t respected when there was clearly a way to make them go on stage on time? Afterward, it can be said that nothing else could have been done, but the organizers could have at least said it. Kassav' and his Big Bad Zouk for its 40th anniversary offered a show with a similar or even superior financial investment (I speak in terms of stage equipment and especially the insurance). However, everything went well and Kassav' said good night to us at 11:30 pm after an encore as planned.
Did I have a good time? Yes because I am a good audience. The artists on stage respected us. The DJs entertained us even with their similar playlists (we'll come back to the role of DJs in spreading the culture another day). It was really the direct communication with the audience that was missing. I won't even talk about the Instagram follow-up for the virtual audience... It seems that 2020 was useless to prove the impact of the online approach on in-person events and that handling online events is a major asset for the Caribbean...
We could just say "too bad, they will do better next time. Hugs and kisses." But after having all these discussions with artists for the #streamcaribbean podcast, I also see the business side. Our Caribbean identity isn’t just a slogan, it should be embodied culturally as well as economically and business-wise. This festival is just another example of what I said in my episode on the Starjee Show, we need to put the human touch back into every aspect of our industry and most importantly respect. Respect for the public and respect for the artists. How can you claim to be a Karibbean rendezvous when you don't even master your communication strategy? What image do we give to the other artists of the English-speaking Caribbean? To the Caribbean public that shows interest in us? To a non-Caribbean public that also has a role to play in giving visibility to our artists? After this festival, I don't know. But it was clearly a missed opportunity to maintain or at least create a space for this community spirit that makes people (artists AND audience) invest their time, energy, and especially their money in the industry.
It's all about cycles, I know. We are coming to the end of a cycle for my generation. If nothing is done now, we will have to wait another fifteen years before having new opportunities on the international scene. I mean, I’m talking about Guadeloupean artists. Martinique has its own lane, and we can come together on some aspects, but I speak from my Karukerament point of view.
So, of course, you can tell me “it ain’t that deep”, “the public is content with less”… First of all, we deserve better, but this is deeper than that. When you organize a Karibbean rendezvous in Europe, you position yourself to participate in the construction of a successful Caribbean cultural industry. This is especially true if you are only doing it for the economic aspect and you won’t take into consideration the cultural pride element. Moving performances from one day to another without notifying the audience, cancelling the closing performance without notifying the audience, artists entering the stage without being introduced to the audience, artists finishing their set without notifying the audience... The audience is the heart of the cultural industry. Yes, it can be content with little, but it can also give a lot when it is respected as it should be to bring musical genres and cultures to the highest. On the condition that you communicate in an adequate way to make them want to do it.