The 35th Annual SUNSHINE Awards will be presented on October 14, at the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark, New Jersey, USA.
The following are the recipients:
Patrick ‘Eze’ Rockcliffe (Guyana): Eze founded the Yoruba Singers in 1970 and is credited for his vision, dedication, and passion for African music. His leadership and unwavering commitment to the Yoruba Singers has resulted in many hits and memorable performances throughout the Caribbean and Central, South, and North America.Their first tour, to Suriname in 1973, resulted in a second tour in 1975 and an invitation to perform at the Suriname Trade Fair. Eze will be awarded for his contribution to the performing arts.
Gerardo Contino (Cuba): A multi-disciplinary artiste, cultural producer, and community organiser, Contino has toured the world with his music. He is a classically trained singer, who began performing professionally in Havana, Cuba at the age of 19. He is the founder and director of Camino al Arte, a non-profit arts organisation that connects and produces cutting edge cultural and educational opportunities for young and established artistes across the US and the Caribbean. In 2012 he created Los Habaneros, which was recognised in 2015 as the ‘Best Band in Manhattan’, and in 2017 as the ‘Best Cuban Dance Band’. With Los Habaneros, Contino will be awarded for his contribution to the performing arts.
Natu Camara (Guinea): Born in Ivory Coast and raised in Guinea, Camara is one of its brightest musical stars and a committed activist for the empowerment and education of girls and women in West Africa. In the early 2000s, Camara led West Africa’s first all-female hip-hop group, the Ideal Black Girls (IBG), whose first album, Guinèya Moumonèra (It’s Not a Shame to Be a Woman) sold in the millions and was nominated for Best Album 2002 in Guinea. Natu’s foundation supports local organisations to mentor and empower young girls and support education as a tool to reduce poverty in Guinea. Natu will will be awarded for her contribution to the performing arts and humanity.
Alvin Daniell (Trinidad & Tobago):Daniell is a cultural ambassador and researcher. He is also regarded as a prolific composer and producer. He has written lyrics for compositions by several steelband arrangers, musicians, and artistes. In 1972 he wrote the lyrics for ‘Pan on the Move’, and co-wrote the lyrics for the sequel, ‘Pan On The Run’, melodies composed by Ray Holman for Starlift Steel Orchestra. He has provided commentary on many calypso and steelband shows, and is regarded as an incubator of knowledge for calypso and steelband music. He has composed over 50 songs and published more than 20 CDs. In 1990, he founded the publishing company, MAJOR & minor Productions, and from 1991 until 2000 he produced the weekly television programme, Calypso Showcase, which continues to serve as an archival reservoir for the featured calypsonians and the art form. He also co-produced the award-winning and internationally acclaimed Calypso Dreams. Alvin has served as president of the Copyright Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago (COTT). In 1995, he received T& T’s Hummingbird Medal (Silver) for his contribution to culture. Daniell will will be awarded for his contribution to education and the performing arts.
Ron Reid (Trinidad & Tobago): Reid is a bassist, steel drummer, arranger, composer, educator and professor of Contemporary Writing and Production at Berklee College of Music, where he teaches arranging, ensemble and pan performance as well as Caribbean music history. Ron began his professional career in 1977 as a bassist for Lord Kitchener’s Calypso Revue tent, and spent many years as bassist for Andre Tanker and the Mau Mau Drummers and the Repertory Dance Theatre of T& T. Reid has received many recognitions and awards, including the Berklee Urban Service Award (2010), the 2016 Distinguished Hall of Fame Award from Trinity College, his beloved high school, and the Caribbean Foundation of Boston’s Martin Luther King, Jr Award (2022). Ron will receive the award for his contribution to education and the performing arts.
Rimli Roy (India): An artiste, dancer, choreographer, producer, actor, director, visionary and humanitarian, Roy embarked on her artistic journey at the age of four, immersing herself first in classical Indian dance forms like Odissi, Bharatnatyam, and Manipuri under renowned gurus of India, while also learning Western classical pianoforte under the tutelage of the Trinity College of Music, London as well as Indian Classical music (Hindustani vocals and harmonium). She is the founder and artistic director of Surati for Performing Arts, a performing arts and education company in Jersey City. Roy has received several accolades including a Folk Arts Apprenticeship award from the NJ State Council on the Arts and a US Artists International award, and she was also nominated for a NJ Heritage Fellowship award for Folk and Traditional Arts from the State of NJ in 2023. Roy will receive the award for her contribution to the performing arts.
Gamal Doyle (StVincent & The Grenadines): Skinny Fabulous (Gamal Doyle) is the unmistakably energetic soca artiste, with the distinctive baritone voice. In 2008 he made his first major impact in the soca arena,and has not looked back since.He has won numerous competitions in Vincy Mas and has copped the coveted Soca Monarch title five times. In 2019, as a non-national, he won the Road March title in T& T with the hit ‘Famalay’, which he wrote and co-performed with Machel Montano & Bunji Garlin. In 2022 he was honoured with a proclamation by the city of Atlanta and was the co-Grand Marshall of the Atlanta Caribbean Carnival along with Georgia District Attorney, Fani Willis. He will receive the Dr Hollis ‘Chalkdust’ Liverpool award for his contribution to the performing arts.
Doreen J Ketchens (US): One of the top traditional jazz clarinetists in the world today, Ketchens grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. She studied clarinet in elementary school, beginning as a fifth grader at Joseph Craig Elementary. She found her passion in jazz when she met her husband, Lawrence who was an arranger and played the sousaphone. In 1987, the couple began performing on the streets of New Orleans.They played occasionally together then she moved to Jackson Square with her first band, the Jackson Square All-Stars. She will receive the award for her contribution to the performing arts.
Nadia Batson (Trinidad & Tobago): Nadia Batson is a well-known and talented singer, songwriter, and soca ambassador. Not only is she a top soca artiste and prolific songwriter with a string of hits (performed by herself and by other artistes) to her credit, but she is also bandleader of SASS Nation, her all-female band, which she formed in 2011. In 2014 and 2015 she was selected as a judge for the Digicel Rising Star show. Nadia is recognised as one of the most respected singer/ songwriters in the region, and will receive the Dr Slinger ‘Mighty Sparrow’ Francisco award for her contribution to the performing arts.
