Exuma Unplugged rocks Regatta Park

The bands were jamming. The people were dancing. And a Junkanoo Rush marched through the streets.

For two amazing nights, Exuma became the new Music City.

Exuma Unplugged, an unprecedented musical event held last weekend, had the whole island rocking, featuring major talent from Canada, the Bahamas and Nashville, Tennessee. All of the talent and their agents stayed at Grand Isle Resort & Spa. Hundreds of tourists, locals and special VIPs from the music industry packed Regatta Park for the two-night performance.

The free festival, organized by GIV Bahamas Inc., was designed to give back to the local community and start a new tradition for the island – and talk about next year’s festival has already begun.

“This event surpassed all expectations. It was off the charts,” said Peter Nicholson, the President of GIV Bahamas Inc. “We want to thank all of the artists that took part and all the hundreds of people that came out to enjoy the music.”

Tyrone Munroe, Nicholson’s long-time business partner and Director of Operations for GIV Bahamas Inc., was integral in organizing and uniting the whole community.

The concert on January 25 and January 25 featured legendary, award-winning musicians from Nashville, the original Music City, including Stacy Mitchhart, Gary Chapman, Morgan Alexander and Ben Miller. Canadian country singers Chad Brownlee and Jess Moskaluke, the Canadian Country Music Singer of the Year for 2014, also put on a show.

But the talent didn’t stop there. Intermixed with the country music were the beats of traditional Bahamian music.

The concert’s crescendo included a spirited Junkanoo Rush, with drums, horns and whistles, as the crowd danced and marched from Regatta Park into the streets and around the Straw Market.

The event was made possible through special partnerships with The Standard at Smith House in Nashville, Tennessee, MDM Recordings
in Canada and the people of Exuma.

And with the music still fresh in everyone’s ears, discussions are underway on how to make next year even bigger and better.

“The singers were great ambassadors and next year we want to involve and benefit the community even more,” said Munroe.