HAMILTON, Bermuda (Top40 Charts/ Bermuda Department of Tourism) - Bermuda Department of Tourism announced today that Grammy Award winner
Lionel Richie along with Motown Legend
Smokey Robinson and Grammy Award nominee
Natasha Bedingfield will be among the top acts performing at the 12th Annual Bermuda
Music Festival being hosted, once again, by "one of the 'Original
Kings of Comedy'" Steve Harvey. From October 3-6, 2007, visitors and Bermudians alike will experience a festival that blends the talents & sounds of internationally renowned performers, rising stars and local artists.
"We are thrilled to welcome such celebrated artists to the Bermuda Music Festival," said Bermuda's Premier, Minister of Tourism and Transport, Dr. the Hon. Ewart F. Brown, JP, MP. "This is a wonderful annual event that positively impacts our country and draws visitors from across the globe. These gifted performers are sure to make this years' festival bigger and better than ever!"
Lionel Richie got his start in the Motown R&B group, the Commodores. The Commodores were one of the most successful acts on the Motown label in the 70s with such hits as "Easy" and "Three Times a Lady." It wasn't until after he left Commodores in the 80's that Lionel Richie became one of the most successful male solo artists with singles such as "Hello" and "All Night Long." Lionel Richie is the only artist, besides Irving Berlin, to have a nine year streak of at least one number one hit every year. In 2006 he released the album Coming Home.
Smoky Robinson, nicknamed America's greatest poet by Bob Dylan, is the writer of many soul classics such as "My Girl" and "The Way You Do the Things You Do." During the sixties Smoky Robinson was not only one of the best song writers in America but also the lead singer for the Miracles. In 1971 he left the Miracles to become Vice-President of Motown Corporations and to launch his solo career. Smoky Robinson was voted into the Rock in Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and is still continuing today to make everlasting music with the release of his 2006 album Timeless Love.
Natasha Bedingfield, who recently performed at the memorial Concert for Diana, took the US by storm last year with the first British chart topping hit by a female in almost twenty years. Vanity Fair singled her out as the spearhead of a new Britpop invasion. Her song "Unwritten" proved to be the most played song on mainstream American radio in 2006.
Comedian, actor and radio personality, Steve Harvey, is a force to be reckoned with. The comedian hit the silver screens in 2004 with two movie releases. After completing a second season of the WB's "Steve Harvey's Big Time Challenge," his latest blockbuster animated live action family film, "Racing Stripes," hit theatres this past January. "The Steve Harvey Morning Show," boasted ratings with loyal listeners over its first five years. Today, "The Steve Harvey Morning Show" is syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks and airs in 18 markets including New York, Dallas, Washington, DC, Chicago, Detroit, Charlotte, Kansas City and Philadelphia.
This year's Bermuda Music Festival is going back to its roots and will be held at the National Sports Centre, the site of the first Bermuda Music Festival 12 years ago. The festival is being produced by George Wein and his company, Festival Productions, Inc. Past participants in the Bermuda Music Festival include: Kenny G, Seal, Natalie Cole, India.Arie, Gladys Knight, Anita Baker and Isaac Hayes, to name a few.
Tickets are on sale now. For additional details, tickets and package information, please visit the Bermuda Music Festival website at https://www.bermudamusicfestival.com or call 800-BERMUDA (800-237-6832).
