Is The Bahamas Missing Out On a Million-dollar Industry?

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – St. Vincent and the Grenadines plans to host a second Cannabliss Festival in October – a headline coming from a Caribbean Network Weekly article. According to the article, it’s already attracted millions of dollars in private investments, creating job opportunities – so it begs the question, can this type of festival work in The Bahamas?

Melvin Henfield – Entrepreneur

“In the Bahamas, I think there is [a possibility], but I think we are a long way from it,” according to Henfield.

That’s the view of professional DJ and promoter Melvin Hepburn, better known as Fresh International.

He says beyond legal and religious concerns, there are major hurdles local promoters face before they can even think about hosting a mega festival.

“The first obstacle is always booking the artist because like you said social media plays a big role booking an artist, it’s kind of tedious, but I’ve been in it for years…[and] it’s easier now, but we have to get approvals from the music union, from immigration, from the U.S. government from the U.S. Border Patrol, everything has to be cleared,” Henfield said.

Two other major challenges?

“Getting sponsorships for some younger promoters…finding a good venue…that suits your vision,” Henfield said.

However, in the grand scheme of things, Hepburn says what is really holding back the local entertainment scene is a lack of unity.

“My grandmother use to call it the black crab syndrome, so if one person is doing the job well, someone else [feels] as though I can do it better,” he said.