Shurwayne Xperience

Shurwayne the Xperience, a concert within a Carnival fete comes off tomorrow night at Estate 101 in Maraval.

Winchester said the show is an opportunity for him to say thank you.

“I am amazed that it is over 16 years I have been in the industry. At this event I have the opportunity not to touch on songs from the beginning – because there is not enough time for that – but I want to touch on the songs that created the brand Shurwayne Winchester, created the brand the ‘iron man,’ created the brand ‘one of the sweetest voices in soca.’ And on this night I have the opportunity to take the fans, my friends and family, alongside with some of my friends in the industry, on a musical journey from yesteryear coming right up to the present to the power soca I just released call Come Back – and of course a surprise for them.

“I am really excited about it. I dubbed 2019 the year for me to say ‘thank you’ because I have a lot to be thankful for in the industry.”

The concert is for his fans, he said.

“If I ask fans to name the top ten songs from Shurwayne they love, they will bawl out: Murder, Carnival Please Stay, Front, Take Your Time, Wine Down, Wining Addiction, Baby Love, Look De Band Coming, Dead or Alive, Can’t Wait, Open The Gate, Born To Wine, Earth Angels.

“I have had so many request for songs, but when your time is up on stage you get complaints that you didn’t do this or that song. On Wednesday I am coming out to do the hits that you (the fans) love in a fete situation. So it is jamming all the way.

“And the good part about it is that my entire original band will be there. People have no idea, it is going to be bacchanal.”

Those band members include Gerion Williams (drummer), Kamau Skerritt (sampler), Geiron Mang (keyboard), Enrico Camejo (guitar), Keron Charles (bass), Christopher Sam (trumpet), Miguel Rawlins (trombone) and Marlon Jackson (engineer).

Winchester said only one member who lives in the US, won’t be able to be here, but he will be there for the overseas show Winchester will be doing.

Asked how he has managed to pull them all together, Winchester related that three years ago, he had a conversation with international reggae artiste Maxi Priest who told him there was no need to have a band of his own because the industry can’t sustain a band.

“When you have your private shows what are your band members supposed to do? They just have to sit down home.”

Winchester said after flying to Switzerland, St Thomas, Barbados, Antigua, Tortola, Miami and promoters crying that they couldn’t afford the band, when he came back and looked at his band members’ faces, he realised that he was being unfair. “So I made the decision to dissolve the band and allow the members to work with any band they wish to.

“However, when the time comes for my events, I would send the dates to a group that was created and you guys come together and rehearse for these shows, just as the Jamaican acts are doing.”

He added that that template is working because the members are able to earn revenue by performing with any other musicians, and it is also increasing the level of musicianship in the industry. On the event tomorrow night, he said: “This experience is unique. I’ve done my concerts in the past at Queen’s Hall, but as I said, this gives me the chance really to put on that fete experience, because there is a feeling that you get on stage when you interact with your family and your audience. You get a core feeling, you know that the persons who came to this event are the persons that really love your brand and you always want to give them more.

“And with this, I also have the opportunity to assist an NGO, the Mercy Ministries, that assists in feeding families. Part proceeds go towards them.”

Though the party is from 6 pm to 12 am, his performance is 90 minutes long, with a storyline starting about 8.30 pm.

Winchester said: “I want to give content, and I have my friends on board with me for the full show. At this venue, you can stand, sit or dance if you want.” Artistes guest-performing with him are Neil “Iwer” George, Swappi, Destra Garcia and a surprise guest artiste, of whom he said: “It is someone who I always wanted to do collaborations with, and this night is actually going to be a fantastic night for me to get to do this.”