Ladies and gentlemen.... members of the media... to the live audience listening across Bermuda right now… Good afternoon!

Today, I am truly excited to announce the talent for the 13th Annual Bermuda Music Festival, to be held October 1st to October 4th.

Ladies and gentlemen, the international talent line up this year is outstanding… there’s no other way to describe it.

In fact I predict that this event will be so big… so awesome… and so popular across so many sectors of our community, employers will find it very difficult to get productivity out of their employees for these four days in October.

This one will be a blockbuster!

Of course last year's festival has left expectations high.

Remember with me... The fabulous return to the National Sports Centre... The fantastic talent... Natasha Bedingfield, The O’Jays, Smokey Robinson, Lionel Richie and Earth Wind & Fire.

It was the show that had people talking for weeks... people were saying -- how on earth are they going to top this for next year?

Well, with months of hard work, I think we figured it out.

The results of that hard work will be unveiled shortly.

However, I must first convey our thanks to three very important people. A major part of our success thus far in securing this year’s crème de la crème of artists goes to our new producers Rock Newman of Gibraltar Promotions and to our local producer extraordinaire David Durham of Yoshi Productions. Additionally, Shane Mora is our intrepid festival point man at the Bermuda Department of Tourism.

Tremendous thanks to these gentlemen and their hard-working teams for pulling out all the stops to ensure that this festival received the best talent available.

And now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for – the line up for the 2008 Bermuda Music Festival.

Back for the third year in a row to host the Bermuda Music Festival is actor, comedian, radio show host and friend of Bermuda – Steve Harvey. We’re happy to have him back as a mainstay of this event.

Now to the musicians…

On Wednesday, the opening night performance will once again be at the Fairmont Southampton Beach Club… starring R&B legends – The Whispers…

On Thursday night the music festival moves to the National Sports Centre…

On the stage under the stars will be a powerful and soulful artist by the name of Lyfe Jennings… also on stage Thursday night – Solange Knowles…

And that’s not all…

The headline performer on Thursday night for the first time ever on Bermuda’s shores, we will welcome one of the most recognizable and most successful female artists of all time… Beyonce!

We’re not done yet. We’re only halfway there…

On Friday night, we will see a legendary reggae band come to our festival with 25-plus years in music and 25-plus years of hits. Few bands are as widely popular as UB40…

Plus, confirmed less than 24 hours ago, another artist for Friday night that will knock your socks off… Bermuda’s own reggae superstar Collie Buddz

And finally on the closing night of the Bermuda Music Festival two more international performers that are headliners in their own right…

From New Orleans, performing live in Bermuda -- Aaron Neville…

And last but certainly not least…

To bring down the house on the final night, October 4th, one of the hottest artists in the world today… 11-time Grammy-Award winner Alicia Keys…

Ladies and gentlemen, I think you have just heard the greatest line up in Bermuda Music Festival history. Let’s hear it!

Please direct your attention to the Bermuda Regiment Soldiers just in front of the stage as we recap the international performers.

Wednesday night – The Whispers.

Thursday night – Lyfe Jennings, Solange Knowles and Beyonce!

Friday night – UB 40 and added just yesterday, Collie Buddz

And Saturday night – Aaron Neville and Alicia Keys.

Now before I close I have some very important ticket information. Listen closely.

The ticket pre-sale for this event begins tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. on the Internet. The pre-sale is exclusively for Bermudians and members of the official Steve Harvey Fan Club.

Bermuda residents can take advantage of this presale by visiting bermudatourism/presell.com.

This is the first time Bermudians can purchase tickets in the comfort of their homes with the convenience of printing tickets at home as well.

Tickets become available to everyone else over the Internet on Thursday and at ticket locations across Bermuda:

The Fairmont Hamilton Princess
The Fairmont Southampton
And Café Latte in St. George’s

Now remember, the National Sports Centre seats about 7,000 people. There will be no general admission and everyone is guaranteed a seat.

So to avoid disappointment I strongly recommend that you purchase your tickets early – in ’08 you simply can not wait until it’s too late!

So ladies and gentlemen there you have it your line up for the 2008 Bermuda Music Festival! We will now set our sights on securing the best in local talent.

I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible dancing under the stars in October.

Thank you.

Premier, Dr. the Hon. Ewart F. Brown
May 20, 2008