On the heels of the islands’ most ambitious music festival to date, KAABOO Cayman is the talk of the town.

Virgin Produced partnered with DART Enterprises to bring international musicians, artists, comedians and culinary specialists to Grand Cayman for a two-day festival that rocked Seven Mile Beach. Local counterparts rounded out the lineup for a mixture of Caymanian and international talent that impressed the festival’s 10,000 guests.

Yello was proud to sponsor the event’s guest services by doing what we do best: helping attendees to find what they were looking for.

Did you miss KAABOO? Here’s a recap of the highlights.

MUSIC

The lineup included a range of genres for an audience of locals and visitors of all ages. From stalwarts of the industry like Blondie and Duran Duran to contemporary chart-toppers like Zedd and the Chainsmokers, there was something for everyone.

Local artists opened the festival. Rico Rolando, Shameka Clarke, Suckerbox, Lion Fish and Matt Brown performed on the Ironshore and Coral Reef stages. While 1503, Danny Loops and Max Kazakov played at the BASK beach club.

Salt n’ Pepa performed a mix of 90s throwbacks, while Romain Virgo appealed to the Caribbean crowd with hits like 2010’s Mi Caan Sleep. Country star Maren Morris gave one of the first live performances of her new single, Girl, and Flo Rida handed out belated Valentine’s Day roses to lucky ladies in the crowd. The Chainsmokers were big hits with a high-energy performance that included tributes to The Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan and Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington. Zedd got the crowd jumping with a brilliant DJ set of hits like Clarity, impeccable production value, and dazzling visuals.

FOOD AND BEVERAGE

Local favourites served up delicious eats all weekend long. Food trucks like Good Mood Food and the Burger Shack were on-hand to fill bellies with greasy post-party staples. Agua put an Italian spin on classic Caymanian flavours with their conch Bolognese, while Cayman Cabana served up lobster tacos and D’Corn Shack added spice with their chili with scotch-bonnet queso. Island Naturals was on hand for vegan guests, with taco bowls, salads, and delicious basil infused popsicles that helped to beat the heat.

It wouldn’t be a party without a bar, and there were plenty around. Three bars surrounded the two main stages, and there were extra beverage stations by Seven Fathoms, the Cayman Islands Brewery and more in the central bazaar. Prices ranged from $7.00 for a beer to $18.00 for specialty mixed drinks. 

ART AND SPECIALITY VENDORS

Colourful murals decorated the site, and artists live-painted canvases displayed on stacked shipping containers. Local artists Gordon Solomon, Marcia Codner, and Stoak’d chatted with festival-goers about their work.  Other vendors included craftspeople, jewelry makers and clothing designers. At a charity auction tent, guests had the opportunity to enter a silent bid on prizes that ranged from gift certificates for gelato to hotel stays and gift baskets in support of Feed Our Future, the Cayman National Cultural Foundation and the National Gallery for the Cayman Islands.

The larger than life art impressed festival-goer Brian Ogilvie who said: “I think what struck me was the grand scale of it all. From the colossal main stages to the towering yet eclectic art installations, it felt like I was transported to some far-flung oasis when I first walked onto the grounds.”

COMEDY

Inside the Humor Me tent, stand-up comedians had the audience smiling.

Alexandria Whittaker spoke to us about her experience seeing Alonzo Bodden’s set: “Alonzo Bodden was hilarious. He really mixed with the crowd and had us laughing from beginning to end. The Humor Me tent was also a nice break from the heat outside!”

COMFORT AND SAFETY

For a first-time festival that attracted thousands, foot and vehicular traffic was mostly unproblematic. Despite some expected line-ups for food and drinks, there were no long waits inside the venue or bumper to bumper traffic outside of it.

First aid stations, roaming police and fire officers were on hand to keep the crowd safe in the event of emergencies (though they were none to speak of).

In place of the usual Porta-Potty™ toilets were flushable units that were cleaned throughout the event, making the bathroom experience less daunting (or gross).

Volunteers, who deserve recognition, diligently cleaned the lawns in front of the stages between each performance and sorted garbage bins to keep recyclables separate from landfill waste.

The main gripe from many festival goers was the site’s lack of connectivity. Wi-Fi was spotty, and even data dropped out on site. KAABOO and Digicel were quick to make changes – by Saturday they doubled connectivity channels to accommodate the crowd.

Attendee Robert Hulse applauded the KAABOO team’s immediate response to any hiccups: “As my first music festival experience and the first for Cayman, I was blown away. The KAABOO team rocked it. Yes, there were things to be improved for next year but seeing as they made improvements from Friday to Saturday, I have no doubt next year will be another level up again. This is a milestone, and soon, we’ll be talking about the island in terms of pre and post KAABOO.”

So, will you be at KAABOO 2020?