Stakeholders in Anguilla representing the Anguilla Tennis Academy, Cable & Wireless, American Eagle, the Anguilla Tourist Board and the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association met in a press conference on Tuesday this week and lauded the upcoming Nashville, Tennesee, Country Music event on the island.

Superstar Pat Greene

The concert takes place in Anguilla on January 13 and 14 with Country Superstar and three-time Grammy nominee Pat Green performing for the Third Annual Country in the Caribbean. Joining him will be Nashville’s award-winning songwriters, Vicky McGee, Rivers Rutherford, Wendell Mobley, Chuck Jones, James Slater and Chuck Cannon.

Tourism, Tennis Academy and Cable & Wireless Officials

The performers will be housed in Desert Rose Villa owned by Eudoxie and Sandra Wallace and Villa View Fort owned by Josephine and Trevor Connor. The Anguilla Tennis Academy is extremely grateful to these property owners for thier support.

On Saturday, January 13, the performances will take place at Scilly Cay, just 150 yards off Island Harbour, where Georgeous Restaurant is located. In this relaxed setting, locals and tourists will be entertained by Pat and the current BMI and ASCAP Songwriters of the Year. A number of Anguillian artistes such as Evan Webster will perform with them.

On Sunday, January 14, Country Superstar, Pat Green, will headline Country in the Caribbean along with many of the other performers, at the legendary Dune Preserve for an unforgettable evening of entertainment. Island legend Bankie Banx will join in for what has proven in the past to be a fun-filled, all out jam session.
All proceeds will benefit Anguillian children and the Tennis Academy. Funds, and awareness, raised by past shows have contributed to several of Anguilla’s youth receiving full scholarships to attend colleges in the United States.
Anguilla Tennis Academy President, Mitchell Lake, said the concert would bring a tremendous amount of exposure to Anguilla and the academy. “It is wonderful to see people coming together to create awareness about the Anguilla Tennis Academy. “I trust that the Anguillian community will support the festival and make it a huge success.”
Mr. Lake stated that the concert would be aired to over fifty million homes in the United States and over fifty thousand Australian homes. He invited Anguillians to attend the concert in large numbers and thanked the long list of sponsors of the event.
GAC Network’s Country Music Across America and syndicated radio’s Country Hilmakers will be covering the weekend’s festivities for broadcast.
Country Music Across America Executive Producer, Greg Tavis, had this to say: “Anguilla is a magical island with wonderful people and they have welcomed the Nashville music community with open arms. It is not just Country Music we bring. These performances mix up Rock, Caribbean flair and some Jazz elements. There is definitely something for everyone; and it’s all for a great cause.”
Director of the Tennis Academy, Jason Allen, clarified that the proceeds of the concert would be going to the towards the academy’s children programme and not towards the facility being built at Blowing Point.
Mr. Allen said the cost of the tickets at Scilly Cay would be US$125 per person in advance and US$150 at the gate and includes the boat ride, a meal and the concert. Admission will start at 12 noon. At the Dune Preserve, the concert will commence at 7 pm and the entry fee will be US$25 at the door and US$20 by ticket. There will be no fee for children.
Millie Hodge, speaking on behalf of American Eagle, said the airline was proud again to be one of the major sponsors. “We have been involved in the past in assisting the Anguilla Tennis Academy with various promotions in trips and other events. That is because we believe in developing sports tourism, so we are looking forward to the success of this event.”
Director of Tourism, Amelia Vanterpool-Kubisch, commended the Tennis Academy for its initiatives both in terms of the development of the facility and in the area of developing tennis for Anguillian children. “The Tourist Board has undertaken to support and develop events, where possible, with a view to filling the down times of the year when we need to improve our occupancies on the island,” she said, noting that the Country Music Festival was one of those events.
Chief Executive of Cable & Wireless, Sutcliffe Hodge, said the company was always very pleased to be associated with anything involving the development of the society as a whole. “We see our involvement with the Anguilla Tennis Academy as something that is really helping to ensure and secure our future for the youth of Anguilla, and most part for the young men of Anguilla,” he stated.

“With respect to the Country Festival, there is another dimension to it in that there is good diversity in sharing of cultures,” he went on. “While it is believed that Country Music is inherent in the people in the eastern part of the island, I think more and more it is becoming appreciated by most people…I think the ability to combine the development tennis and music diversity in Anguilla is certainty a great thing. The fact that we are also offering forms of entertainment for our tourists is an additional benefit.”

Sponsors are St. Regis Temenos, Caribbean Cable Communications, Cap Juluca, ABC Supplies, Anguilla Development Board, National Bank of Anguilla, Caribbean Commercial Bank, View Fort Villa, Rendezvous Bay Hotel & Villas, Dune Preserve, Scilly Cay, CuisinArt Resort and Spa, Malliouhana Hotel and Spa, Triple K Car Rental, Highway Rent A Car, Anguilla Great House, Fair Play Management Services Ltd, Malliouhana Insurance Co, Ltd, Caribbean Juris Chambers, the American Eagle, Government of Anguilla and Titanium Sound.

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