Bankie (left) with Third World's Bunny Rugs

Reggae ambassadors, the Third World Band and roots rock reggae dynamo, Culture will this year headline Anguilla's long-running music festival, Moonsplash. The weekend festival, which runs from April 1 to 4, will also feature Jamaican Benjy Myaz and blues grass honky-tonk hijinks exponents, Sheriff Uncle Bob and the Goodtimers from New York.

Promoter Clement Ashley, aka Bankie Banks, will add his unique blend of folk, jazz, blues and reggae to this musical package to unfold at his own Dune Preserve cultural complex at Rendezvous Bay, Anguilla. A number of local acts will also be appearing.

Bankie Banks

Dune Preserve is an eco-friendly beach nightclub with restaurant and lounge where since 1990, during the March full moon, Banks puts on Moonsplash.

"The view is majestic," said Banks who is making good on a promise he made to this paper in the latter part of last year (see Weekend Observer, Friday, October 3, 2003) when he was in Jamaica putting the finishing touches on his latest album, Chariot Of Steel.
"Come April 2004, the celebrated Third World Band will be the featured act at Dune Preserve," he said then.

Building on the success of previous festivals which have featured Freddie McGregor, Marcia Griffiths, Black Uhuru, Lloyd Parkes and We the People Band and Derrick Morgan, Banks has prepared another musical feast for Moonsplash 2004.

Sheriff Uncle Bob

The festival kicks off with the Moonsplash cocktail party, which provides an opportunity for fans to meet the stars up-close and personal and to obtain autographs.

Culture is slated to perform on Friday, April 2, after Sheriff Uncle Bob and the Goodtimers, Bankie Banks and Benjy Myaz. On the Saturday night (April 3), it will be Third World's turn. The festival ends on Sunday (April 4) with the Moonsplash grand beach party.

The fear factor

Feeding the multitude

DANGEROUS PETS