During the week of
April 4-8, the breathtaking 21-mile-long Caribbean island of Barbados experienced something completely new—the house and techno driven
Vujaday Music Festival.
Taking place across six picturesque venues situated all over the
island, the weeklong dance marathon amassed over a thousand attendees
during year one. Being a culture that is better known for its soca,
calypso and reggae music, icons of the house and techno underground
converged on the tiny island and established a new subculture that was
beloved by locals and visitors alike.
The festival kicked off on April 4th at the picturesque beachside venue
Pirate’s Cove where festival-goers worked out their calves while dancing in the sand. The event included a wild B2B set from
Latmun and
Solardo, who warmed up the crown in advance of Dirtybird favorite
Justin Martin, Chicago house and techno legend
Green Velvet and Toronto resident and Hot Creations signee
Nathan Barato.
The energy escalated into day two as attendees spent the festival at the resplendent
Bellevue Plantation Estate.
Built in 1735, the verdant 100-acre property was one of the first
plantations on the island and has since become an ideal location for
weddings, yoga retreats, polo matches and now—music festivals. Complete
with pool and bougainvillea, coconut, and mahogany trees, you may even
catch a glimpse of wild monkeys bouncing in the canopy. Bellevue
experienced a Crew Love takeover that included
The Fitness & Pony,
Nick Monaco,
Wolf + Lamb,
Lonely C (Soul Clap) and more.
Day three took attendees back to the sand at the
Copacabana, along with an exclusive VIP party at
Nikki Beach Barbados earlier in the day. Copacabana saw acts such as the inimitable
Lee Reynolds and
Mikey Lion of
Desert Hearts, Vienna based DJ
Cassy, the legendary
Mark Knight, and
3D (Dave Seaman, Darren Emerson, Danny Howells) closing out the night together.
Bellevue Plantation felt hard to top until arriving at
Cornwall House
for day four as picturesque vistas of sea and jungle made for a
stunning backdrop to the festival. The day offered another solid set of
house, techno and disco artists such as
Lauren Lane,
YokoO,
Nitin,
Lee Foss, and
Behrouz. The night finished with a sherbet sunrise which bleary-eyed onlookers enjoyed from the bluff.
The final day returned to
Copacabana and closed
out the weekend with an onslaught of pulse-quickening sets. Providing
attendees with their final dose of house music before resuming their
regular lives was San Francisco based house DJ
atish, Italian sensation
Francesca Lombardo, All Day I Dream founder
Lee Burridge, a crowd-pleasing concluding set from
DJ Tennis and more.
Additional venues include
Bellevue Plantation,
which was built in 1735 and features spacious grounds, a large swimming
pool, a beautiful bar area, and lush gardens surrounding the property.
Finally we have
Copacabana, which features beach chairs, umbrellas, kayaks, a stage on the beach, and an epic dance floor.
Vujaday Music Festival would like to thank everyone who
made it out to Barbados for the inaugural adventure. Keep your eyes
peeled for
more news from the Vujaday team as they continue to grow and plan for future events. Rest assured, they are only just getting started.
Vujaday would like to thank their sponsors on the
festival: BTMI, Sun Group Inc, Bryden Stokes (Grey Goose, SKYY,
Dewar's), Mount Gay Distilleries / Remy Cointreau (Mount Gay, Remy
Martin, Luc Belaire), Banks Breweries (Banks Beer), and Island Ice
Limited.
Vujaday also sends a big shout out to Permanent Vacation,
Dr, Linhart, BN3TH, PKG Shop, and Valia Gabriel for the amazing gifts
they provided to guests and artists that performed at the festival.
