SHAGGY and Sting are among the headliners for the St Lucia Jazz and Arts Festival slated for Pigeon Island National Park from May 5 to May 14. The festival makes its return after a three-year break due to COVID-19.

According to Travel Pulse, the announcement was made by the St Lucian Tourism Authority (SLTA) on Wednesday.

“This year we are focusing on creating even more experiences around the destination,” Lorine Charles-St Jules, SLTA’s CEO, was quoted as saying.

Although being individual acts, Shaggy and Sting won the Best Reggae Album Grammy Award for the joint project 44/876 in 2019.

Their latest collab effort, Com Fly Wid Mi, produced by Sting, is also nominated in the Best Reggae Album category in this year’s ceremony slated for next month.

In a previous interview, Shaggy expressed that he was elated on being nominated.

“I’m really excited about this one, because of Sting. The one that we won the last time, Sting wasn’t with me. I’m hoping we’ll be together on this one. He [Sting] produced Com Fly Wid Mi…Sting made me do something I pretty much never knew I would do, which is to sing the way I do. Sting has always pushed me to do things that I’m scared of doing… He has always pushed me to that little place of uncomfortableness, for lack of a better world, so I’m really excited about this project,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Com Fly Wid Mi was released in May 2022 and sees the entertainer Shaggy singing 10 of the legendary actor/singer Frank Sinatra’s best-known songs.

Sting (given name Gordon Sumner) is a British musician and former frontman of rock band The Police from 1977 until their breakup in 1986. As a solo musician and a member of The Police, Sting has received 17 Grammy Awards.

Shaggy (given name Orville Burrell) has two Grammy wins under his belt – his previous win was with the album Boombastic in 1996.

Jamaican acts Barrington Levy and Buju Banton are also slated for the St Lucia Jazz and Arts Festival. Other performers include two-time Latin Grammy winner Gustavo Casenave, 16-time Grammy Award winner Kirk Franklin, and St Lucian artiste Luther Francois.

Started in 1992, the St Lucia Jazz and Arts Festival is among the longest-running Caribbean music festivals.