[George Town, Grand Cayman, ] – The
Pirates Week Festival Office along with the Tourism Attraction Board,
Ministry of Culture and the Cayman Music and Entertainers Association
is proud to announce the winners of the 2019 National Song
Competition.

Taking first place and the $5000 cash
prize at Saturday’s event (9th November) is The Matrixx
with his upbeat song ‘Everyone A Danca’. Andy Blake takes home
$3000 for arriving in the second-place spot with his song ‘Sweet,
Sweet Cayman’.

To the delight of the audience was a
twist of the night, when a third-place tie was announced between
established reggae musician Stuart Wilson and newcomers,
nine-year-old Kadence Miller-Ebanks and eight-year-old Tayanna
Samuels who together win a $2000 cash prize.

Mr. Wilson performed his original song
‘Oh Cayman Isle’, while Kadence and Tayanna performed ‘It’s
Pirates Week’.

With
16 participants, Pirates Week General Manager, Melanie McField feel
the event is growing exponentially and promoting and encouraging the
creation of original works. “This is the second year that the
competition has been brought back after a long hiatus and we noted
the same this year – the event was met with much enthusiasm by
local artists.”

It
is heart-warming to see the talents that Cayman has to offer, and we
are proud to showcase this talent on the Pirates Week stage. A
special thanks to our host Dane Ramoon and judges, Sam Lancaster,
Dean Bremmer, Tiffany Dixon-Ebanks and Ben Meade,” she said.

The participants were judged on their
song lyrics, musical production, melody, stage presentation and
audience interaction.

Cayman Music and Entertainers
Association (CMEA) president, Jèan-eric Smith, at the end of the
event said “Cayman talent is premium. For me personally, everybody
tonight made me super proud! For all the musicians and everyone
associated with this production, I must say it was well done.”

The cash prizes for the Pirates Week National Song Competition amounts to CI$10,000; the Ministry of Culture, the Tourism Attraction Board (TAB) and the Cayman Music and Entertainment Association (CMEA) sponsors the $5,000 first, $3,000 second and $2,000 third prizes, respectively.

IMAGES:

Photo Caption 1: Song
competition winners (l-r) Andy Blake, The Matrixx, Stuart Wilson and
Kaydence and Tayanna

About the artists:

The Matrixx - Born in
Jamaica, raised in the Cayman Islands Mikhail “The Matrixx”
Campbell schooled in Canada. The Matrixx is an artist and producer
with over a decade of experience writing and recording songs. Mr.
Campbell says he specializes in ‘lyrical hip-hop and storytelling
with a Caribbean flavour’.

His debut EP, “Islands,”
received the Best EP award at the 2016 Cayman Music Festival -
Ponciana. Currently, The Matrixx is working on a second EP
tentatively titled “Third Person.”

Andy Blake
– is a singer and songwriter from Bodden Town, Grand
Cayman. He began his musical career by singing in church from a
tender age and is the winner of the 2010 Cayman’s Got Talent.

Blake has
opened for acts such as Kymani Marley, Genuine, Diana King, Tessanne
Chin and the late Percy Sledge. He has made numerous appearances at
major local events such as Taste of Cayman, Cayman Music Festival -
Ponciana, Culture Shock and many more.

Aspiring to compile his first EP by
early 2020, Blake is now a full-time musician and can be found at
many popular bars and restaurants island wide.

Stuart
Wilson
- Stuart Wilson has a unique blend/fusion of reggae, blues, jazz and
hip-hop to which her refers to as ‘Reggae Renaissance Music’. He
is a sophisticated reggae artist, who has been in enchanting music
lovers around the globe with his sound and eclectic style of music.

Mr.
Wilson has opened for acts such as John Legend, Air supply, Damien
Marley, Beres Hammond, Michael Bolton, Roberta Flack, Sean Paul,
Morgan Heritage, and Third World.

Kadence Miller-Ebanks and Tayanna
Samuels – Kadence has a passion for all things music
since she was very young. The nine-year-old has performed in school
Christmas concerts and her school’s choir for the National
Children’s Festival of the Arts (NCFA). She also participates in a
target-based scholarship with The Broadway Stars conducted by
Musicians KY.

Kadence
is excited to begin learning the violin during her next school term
and is happy to be perform with her cousin, eight-year-old Tayanna
who is also no stranger to performing in school concerts.

Both
girls enjoy playing and recording in Kadence’s father’s studio.
Diana is eight years old

About Pirates Week:
The
Pirates Week Festival is the largest event in the Cayman Islands
calendar, annually drawing over 35,000 spectators for the duration of
the five-day festival and District Heritage Day events. During this
time, the islands are transformed into a mass of colour and revelry,
with over three dozen different events being hosted over three
weekends, across all three islands!

The Pirates Week Festival is
administered by the Tourism Attraction Board of the Cayman Islands.

Those looking to participate in the
festival or become a sponsor in any way, can email
events@piratesweekfestival.com.

If you would like more information
about this topic, please email marketing@tab.ky
.

District Heritage Days:
The
District Heritage Committees will once again highlight unique aspects
of their individual districts, with cultural displays, traditional
food and fun activities for children and adults.

The District Heritage Days will take
place this year from 12th – 16th November.

The District Heritage Day schedule is
as follows:

East End: Tuesday,
12th November

West
Bay: Wednesday, 13th November

Bodden
Town: Friday, 15th November

George
Town: Saturday, 16th November

To learn more, log on to the website
www.piratesweekfestival.com.
Here you can find out about the more than 40 events being held
throughout the festival season, sign up as a volunteer, food or craft
vendor in Grand Cayman or Cayman Brac.

The public is also encouraged to follow
Pirates Week on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for real time
updates.

Sponsors:
The Pirates Week
Festival is pleased to have the support of these major sponsors for
the 2019 events:

AI Rentals
Ace Hardware
Cayman
Airways Ltd.
Bacardi
Cayman Islands Department of
Tourism
Hurley’s Media Ltd.
Ministry of Tourism
Ministry
of CultureTourism Attraction Board

A complete list of sponsors can be
found on the www.piratesweekfestival.com