AFTER three years of celebrating Caribbean excellence in New York City, the Caribbean Music Awards (CMAs) is coming home. For the first time since its inception, the awards ceremony will be staged on Caribbean soil, with Trinidad and Tobago selected to welcome artistes, industry stakeholders and music lovers for what is expected to be a landmark celebration of regional sound and culture.

The move will also usher in a new era for the CMAs as the event will move from a single celebratory evening to an immersive weekend featuring networking, industry discussions, cultural showcases and opportunities for fans to engage more closely with the people behind the music.

For Paige de Leon, regional public relations strategist for the CMAs, the expansion reflects the steady growth of an event that has increasingly established itself as a credible platform for Caribbean talent.

Paige de Leon, regional PR strategist for the Caribbean Music Awards

“I think that when you’re building a movement like this, you are going to find that if the quality of the offering and your product is really solid, and there is authenticity in your intention, you are going to see growth,” she said. “The growth is all positive. One of the things that I most appreciate about the Caribbean Music Awards, as a Caribbean woman, is that it is an intuitive entity that seeks to respond to the needs of its audience — the Caribbean Diaspora. That speaks very highly of its founders, and now to the fact that it will be held in Trinidad and Tobago.”

Since its launch, the CMAs has sought to provide a dedicated stage on which the breadth and diversity of Caribbean music can be recognised. Its growing reach was underscored last year when the awards were broadcast on BET, introducing the ceremony and its honourees to an even wider audience. Having strengthened its footing internationally, de Leon said the time had come to ensure that the people who live within the region and continue to fuel its musical movements could experience the ceremony for themselves.

“We’re bringing it to Trinidad because we want to make sure that the people of the Caribbean have the opportunity to experience the ceremonial splendour of their music in this way,” she explained. “We have spent the last three years or so building the event, and last year the CMAs were shown on a major network, BET, and that was a very significant moment for us. Now we want to connect our people with the music. We want the people who fuel this music to have access to this and how it is evolving.”

That connection will stretch beyond the awards stage. The weekend will begin with a Friday-night networking experience, allowing guests to engage with artistes, participants and other members of the entertainment industry. A celebration of the steelpan will also form part of the programme, paying tribute to an instrument born in Trinidad and Tobago that has become an enduring symbol of Caribbean creativity and identity. The weekend will also include a discussion forum bringing together various industry professionals to explore the Caribbean music industry’s place within the global entertainment landscape.

Grammy-winning artiste Buju Banton (left) and international hip-hop superstar Busta Rhymes at the 2025 CMAs

According to de Leon, the forum will provide space for serious conversations about the business, development and international integration of the region’s music.

“There is an intellectual side to the music that we must not forget,” she said. “That will make for a very robust and rounded weekend of activities.”

While several Caribbean destinations could have provided an appropriate backdrop for the historic occasion, de Leon said Trinidad and Tobago emerged as the most natural fit. Beyond its globally recognised Carnival and rich musical traditions, she explained that the twin-island republic possesses the infrastructure and expertise required to successfully stage large-scale entertainment events. Its reputation for celebration is also expected to bring a distinctive energy to the CMAs’ first Caribbean staging.

Dancehall star Elephant Man during his performance at the Caribbean Music Awards in 2025

“We could have picked anywhere in the region to host the awards because, really and truly, the music is everywhere,” de Leon said. “However, we felt Trinidad and Tobago was a natural fit because we have the physical and human-resource infrastructure that routinely churns out shows of this nature. Trinidad is party central, so there will be a lot of activity that will make for a very interesting and vibrant weekend in the capital, Port of Spain. We’re all excited to have a successful weekend.”

The decision to bring the awards into the region also signals that the CMAs is no longer simply an ambitious new undertaking. Though entering only its fourth year, the ceremony is already being positioned as an institution capable of preserving legacies while acknowledging the contemporary artistes carrying Caribbean music into new markets.

“I think, over time, people realised that this wasn’t something that was going to stop and start again or fade away,” de Leon said. “There is a lasting, legacy-type feel to the awards, even though we’re just four years in.”

That commitment to legacy will be reflected in the recognition of Jamaican dancehall trailblazer Patra, whose commanding image and unapologetic expression helped introduce a new representation of Caribbean womanhood to international audiences.

Internationally renowned producers Swiss Beatz (left) and DJ Khaled share a moment during last year’s CMAs.

For de Leon, the honour is also deeply personal. “Patra is one of those artistes who has had a really transformational impact on the music. She had such a significant impact on me as a young Caribbean woman when I saw how she handled herself and how authentic she was about her sensuality as a woman and her experiences,” she shared. “She has been a significant influence in spreading Caribbean music across the world. She’s very special to us because of what she changed in how we see ourselves, and we just want to give her her flowers.”

Although Trinidad and Tobago will be the first Caribbean destination to host the ceremony, organisers do not intend for it to be the last. The long-term vision is to rotate the awards throughout the region, allowing the countries that have shaped Caribbean music to participate directly in its celebration while benefiting economically from the event.

“The intention is most certainly to have the awards move around and have all the countries that contribute to the success of music in the region be a part of the celebrations,” de Leon said. “When you have an awards ceremony like this, it means you’re stimulating the economy in the country where that ceremony is being held, and we want that for every country in the Caribbean. We want the CMAs to become an important element of the global tourism product.”