Program Saturday 5 September
These acts have been confirmed. The timetable will be announced later.
Jon Batiste
Jon Batiste is een echte alleskunner: de Amerikaan is zanger, componist, multi-instrumentalist, bandleider, televisiepersoonlijkheid en acteur. Hij heeft al acht Grammy Awards op zijn naam (uit maar liefst 25 nominaties), waaronder die voor Album van het Jaar voor We Are uit 2021. Batiste komt uit Louisiana en groeide op als onderdeel van een heuse New Orleans muzikale dynastie met minstens 25 bekende artiesten. Zelf speelde hij al op zijn achtste percussie en drums in de Batiste Brothers Band. Drie jaar later stapte hij over naar de piano en al op zijn 17e bracht hij zijn eerste album uit. Batiste werkte met veel artiesten samen, uiteenlopend van Prince en Stevie Wonder tot Willie Nelson en Mavis Staples. Ook was hij jarenlang bandleider op televisie, bij de Late Show van Stephen Colbert. Zijn muziek is net zo divers, muzikaal zwevend tussen gospel, soul, pop, blues en rock-’n-roll. Al die invloeden laat hij horen op zijn recentste album, Big Money uit 2025.
J Balvin
With over 35 million records sold worldwide, J Balvin stands as one of the most influential and globally streamed Latin artists of all time. As his career continues to evolve, he remains at the center of a movement he helped create – one that pushed Latin music beyond regional boundaries into a truly global conversation. A 5x Grammy and 35x Latin Grammy nominee – and a recipient of major honors including Billboard Latin Music Awards, Latin GRAMMYs, and MTV Video Music Awards – the artist from Medellín, Colombia has been instrumental in breaking language barriers and positioning Latin music firmly within mainstream culture worldwide. From headlining landmark festivals like Coachella and Lollapalooza to consistently ranking among the most-streamed artists on the planet, J Balvin continues to define Latin music as a dominant global force.
Afro 23
Yulier Ernesto Bonet Perez is a Cuban singer, pianist and producer, better known by his stage name AFRO 23. Having developed a passion for music at a young age, he studied percussion since he was 10. At the same time he started playing piano, which has remained his main instrument to this day. He was a timbalero in the Caisimu Orchestra, was musical director of the Salsa Candela Orchestra, played piano in the Sonido Caliente Orchestra and collaborated with many more great Cuban music orchestras, such as Elio Reve y su Charangon, Dan Den, and Manolito Simonet y su Trabuco. After travelling the world, discovering rhythms and sounds along the way, he settled in Miami and signed his first record contract in 2022, before releasing his single Soy Afro 23. That was followed by, among others, Lo Que Se Comenta (2023) and Ella Baila Bonito (2025). Now settled in the city of Miami, AFRO 23 is known for his energetic music that blends traditional Cuban sounds with modern influences, and especially for his versatility and energy on stage.
Al Di Meola Ensemble
Legendary American guitarist Al Di Meola will perform on the festival grounds for the first time, after dazzling the audience in Brakke Put Mei Mei during one of the pre concerts in 2013. Right from his first notes with Chick Corea’s supergroup Return to Forever in the early 1970s, he established a reputation as one of the world’s finest guitarists due to his unmatched, lightning-fast playing and keen ear for a catchy melody. Though mostly known for his jazz fusion, on the dozens of albums he has released Di Meola has played many styles; from jazz, rock, fusion and Latin to Beatles covers and traditional South American music. He booked his greatest success when he swapped electric guitar for acoustic, forming a super trio with John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia. That virtuoso collaboration resulted in Friday Night In San Francisco (1981), some say the most influential acoustic guitar record ever.
Branford Marsalis and Dianne Reeves celebrate John Coltrane
Two jazz superpowers unite in Curacao! Grammy-winning saxophonist Branford Marsalis started out in Art Blakey’s big band, played with Lionel Hampton’s orchestra and in a quintet with his brother Wynton, fronted his own groups, performed with Sting and led the Buckshot Lefonque project. Dianne Reeves is considered one of the most virtuosic and versatile jazz singers. The recipient of five Grammys, she has been making albums for over forty years. Reeves toured with Harry Belafonte in the 1980s and worked with many great names; her first album on Blue Note featured Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard and Tony Williams. To celebrate the 100th Anniversary of John Coltrane’s birth in September, Reeves and the Branford Marsalis Quartet teamed up to record an album together as a tribute to Coltrane, specifically his 1963 album with Johnny Hartman. The album is accompanied by a world tour, which will now bring them to the island.
Kassav’
Founded in 1979, the lively music of the band Kassav’ draws on the rhythms of Guadeloupe’s gwo-ka and Martinique’s ti-bwa. What came forth was zouk, a new Afro-Caribbean style which quickly conquered Latin America, followed by Africa, Europe and even Asia. Based in Paris, the group of musicians and singers have toured extensively since the eighties. The quick, jittery drum rolls and pointed horn sounds were a welcome counterpart to disco and new wave. The group has released over twenty albums, often rewarded with gold and platinum discs. They all have modern carnival music at their heart, sometimes with politically engaged lyrics. There have been guest performances by Stevie Wonder and several reggae artists. Today Kassav' is still the same mesmerizing band giving original African rhythms a modern and Caribbean twist.
Stephen Marley
To say Stephen Marley was brought up with reggae would be an understatement. The second son of Bob Marley, he started his music career at age 7 in The Melody Makers, alongside his three older siblings and mentored by their famous father. Their third album, 1988’s Conscious Party, would make Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers (as they were called by then) the youngest recipients of a Grammy for best Reggae Album. These days, Marley has no less than eight Grammys to his name – three with the band, two as a producer for his brother Damian, and three as a solo artist. Marley found success as a singer, songwriter, musician and producer, collaborating with his own family as well as with Lauryn Hill, Bobby Brown, Nas, and Erykah Badu, among many others. Every one of his solo projects to date has topped the Billboard Reggae charts. His fifth solo album, 2023’s Old Man, features Eric Clapton, Jack Johnson and his brothers Ziggy and Damian.
