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Breakfast in Barbados 2016

Today, I want to share with you my experience at the CHUM FM Breakfast in Barbados concert. The 2016 line up consisted of performances by Hailee Steinfeld, DNCE and Shaggy.

I’m going to be quite honest and say that this line up didn’t excite me much as none of them was really my cup of tea musically. This was my first time attending, and my first time knowing it existed, so I was also quite skeptical. I agreed to go, somewhat reluctantly, to assist Brett as assistants should do.

When we arrived at Holders House, there were a set of 3-5 valets who guided us to available parking spaces based on our requests. This was unexpected but definitely a great touch.

As always, business was first so we waited outside the entrance to ensure that our three (3) ticket winners (and their guests) got in first then we headed in.

The environment was colourful and vibrant. It was still fairly early so I walked around, taking in the ambiance of it all. DJ Kirk Brown was keeping everyone warmed up with some impressive mixes and everyone seemed to be having a good time.

We made our way to the bar to grab some bottles of water, which we found out were complimentary. ALL DRINKS were complimentary. In that moment, I contemplated returning next year just to make liberal use of this. To add to it all, the bartenders were really friendly, helpful and eager to make sure that everyone got what they need to keep enjoying their night.

As it grew closer to 8pm, we made our way to the media pit to get ourselves comfortable and take a few early shots. You can take a look at all the photos we took in the Breakfast in Barbados 2016 Photo Gallery. DJ Kirk Brown was still on at this point (and returned between performers) to keep the crowd moving and vibing to the music.

I would say that the performances were like a 3 course meal with Hailee Steinfeld much like the appetizer. I wasn’t familiar with any of her music so I thought I would just have to brave through her performance and try my hardest not to be bored but the energy of the crowd was so unbelievable that I decided to have more of an open mind about it.

Hailee performed four (4) songs: “You’re Such A“, “Love Myself“, “Love Yourself” and “Rock Bottom” ft DNCE. For the first two (2) songs, she had a group of back up dancers who were on point. Before her performance was over, I found myself actually enjoying it. There was just something about the melodies, the atmosphere and being right between Hailee’s energy and the crowd’s energy that just swept me up in the whole experience.

For the main course, we had DNCE who came out with an electrifying entrance that led into the performance of their self titled single “DNCE“. I’m a fan of live bands so I was engrossed in their performance from the beginning. DNCE performed a long list of songs. Some were their own creations like “Good Day“, “Pay My Rent“, “Toothbrush“, “Cake By The Ocean” and “Doctor“, while others were classics with a DNCE twist such as “Waterfalls” by TLC, and “Get Up” by James Brown. So if you were like me, and didn’t know any of their songs, you could still sing along to the classics, which I definitely did.

The group was very in sync. Joe’s vocals were smooth and enjoyable. His range definitely surprised me. So much so that I couldn’t help but to give him his own round of applause. Jack (Drums) was perfect, effortlessly switching up the rhythms and tempo between songs, so flawlessly that they all just seemed to be merged together.

JinJoo (Electric guitar) was amazing, showing that she can rock just as hard as the guys, even dropping to her knees in the middle of her epic guitar solo.

Cole (Bass guitar) was definitely a trip. When everyone was turned up at 100%, he was always at 150%. His guitar solo at the end was nothing short of beastly. He even jumped off the stage, sprinted around part of the crowd, slipped and fell in the VIP area, rolled on the stage floor and never stopped rocking out.

Overall, DNCE’s performance was great. They enjoyed themselves and each other. They have great chemistry. I, along with the rest of the crowd, loved and enjoyed them and their performance.

Then came the dessert, Shaggy. His live band, equipped with guitars, drum kit, keyboards and a turn table, dawned the stage first. His back up singers soon followed, each carrying a Jamaican flag. Now, just from growing up in the Caribbean, I know that if any performer comes on stage with a flag, rag or cloth, they plan to get hype and leave it all on stage and Shaggy did not disappoint.

His opening performance was nothing short of thrilling. You could tell that this is what the entire crowd was waiting for. Throughout his entire performance, he engaged the crowd with dialogue and entertained with his mischievous antics. His “wineing” definitely got some ladies in the crowd hot and bothered.

Shaggy performed a wide array of his songs, ranging from classics like “Boombastic” and “Oh Carolina” to his new songs. He even went further to give the crowd a taste of the songs, “That Love” and “I Got You” from his brand new album before the release date!

But Shaggy wasn’t done there. He would then go on to make his time on stage more dynamic and add more Caribbean flavour by inviting Barbados’ own, Rayvon to join him in duet songs like “It Wasn’t Me“. It was just such a memorable performance and was definitely worthy of being the main event.

Overall, I enjoyed every aspect of it even though I came in with a closed mind. So bravo to CHUM FM (and all of Bell Media) for organizing such an amazing show and bravo to all the artists for amazing performances.

If you missed out on being there, we’ve got you covered with photos and videos taken live at the Breakfast in Barbados concert.

TL;DR: Was surprisingly good. Would go again.

By: Kimberly Quintyne


About Totally Barbados (Edit profile)

Brett Callaghan is the founder and managing director of Totally Barbados. I specialize in writing content for the tourism industry for my island home of Barbados. I help companies build strategies to grow online businesses with SMART marketing, advertising, and social media goals.

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