Last week, HG Christie Grand Bahama donated $1,500 to The Beacon School on Grand Bahama to help complete its Junior Junkanoo costumes and float.

"This is a wonderful way for HG Christie to assist, to be able to help a small school like this show their spirit and that they are part of the community - it's just terrific," said Catherine MacLeay, HG Christie real estate agent.

Junior Junkanoo, which is a traditionally well-attended event on the island, will take place on Saturday on Pioneers Way, downtown, Freeport, and over 20 schools are set to participate.

"Our kids are so excited. The Beacon School always comes out to Junior Junkanoo and puts on a grand performance," said Titi McKenzie-Moss, The Beacon School principal.

"We are so grateful to HG Christie for supporting us. It's very important for companies to come in and support the local schools. Junior Junkanoo is an expensive venture. With corporate citizens coming in, it makes it easier for us."

The Beacon School, which is the island's only special needs school, will be highlighting its silver jubilee at the event.

"Our children, a lot of them are not academically inclined, but they are very talented," McKenzie-Moss said.

"Taking part in Junkanoo helps them realize they can play the cowbells, beat the drums, and dance like everyone else, and it showcases and brings awareness to special education in Grand Bahama."

Forget what you thought of Wendi, and take her out of that box that you might have had her in, because Wendi has evolved.

She has grown.

Wendi has changed.

She has matured.

Wendi is a married woman with a child.

She is more.

Like many women, she has gone through it.

"Take me out of the box, because there is so much more," said Wendi who drops "Unboxed", her first full-length album that is a 10-song Caribbean pop collection of original songs.

"I want people to think of my music and me outside of any sort of parameters they originally thought of Wendi. There is more. Don't put me in a box."

In other words – unbox Wendi.

With the release of the album, Wendi releases a third single as well, "Slippery", a groovy soca song about female empowerment and embracing one's sexuality - a song that she is excited about.

"Slippery" she hopes will resonate with her fan base and female demographic ahead of the Caribbean Carnival 2023 season and gain her new followers and listeners.

"Slippery" is the third single from the album to be released after "Tell Her Come" and "Come Over Lover".

Five singles are scheduled to be released from "Unboxed".

"Unboxed", which features a collection of original songs, was written by Wendi Lewis, Frederick Seymour, Dyson Knight and Anwar McDonald. The featured genres are rake 'n' scrape, soca, Junkanoo, dancehall, kompa, and Caribbean fusion. It is undoubtedly Caribbean but with an edge.

It was produced by Freddie "Gotsykx" Seymour and Leonardo "Sniper" Rogers.

"Unboxed" has been my baby," said Wendi. She admitted that she is excited and nervous for its release.

"I want people to love it. If people just buy the singles, that's fine, but I want everyone to buy the full album and I want everyone to be proud because it's a 100 percent Bahamian project. The song writing is top tier and relatable. It's good to sing about sun, sand and seas, but this is relatable and about friendship, money, haters, love and loss."

Wendi is proud of the art she has created, but at the same token, knows that art is subjective.

She recorded the first single for "Unboxed" in summer 2021. The album was completed in the first quarter of 2022. She then had to find the right time for it to drop, coming off a pandemic.

"I wanted to release the album first quarter 2022, but the time wasn't right, so I released the first single. Everything is perfect timing, so I released a second single. Releasing first quarter 2023 is right on target, people are embracing going out more, so I feel like it's a good time to get things out."

She has also released videos for "Tell Her Come" and "Come Over Lover". Visuals she said are on the way for "Slippery".

Wendi's entrance onto The Bahamas' music scene began at the age of four. Her reintroduction she said was born out of a need for fresh new artistry and innovation.

She represents female empowerment, sex appeal, powerhouse vocals and strength.

With songs like "One Song", "Attitude", "Een Missin' It", "In Front Of You", "Walk Out", "Conch Gone" and "Save The World" - Wendi's musical contributions are extensive.

Wendi is passionate about vocal performance and electrifying the stage. The underlying message behind almost all of Wendi's songs is of female empowerment and being unapologetically bold in every aspect of life, which she displays in her sex appeal, vocal prowess, and dance.

Wendi, who is also a Bahamian Icon Award winner for outstanding achievement in music, and a two-time Elevation Award winner, has also made waves on the international scene as a two-time winner of SAO International Soca Award for best music video and the 2019 winner for female soca performer of the year. In 2018, she won the Hollywood Music in Media Award for best dance song.

ONE Family emerged as the unofficial winner of the New Year's Day Junkanoo Parade, kicking off the new year with back-to-back wins after rushing to victory just days earlier on Boxing Day.

It marks a significant milestone for the group following a two-year hiatus of the cultural event, as it has been some 20 years since One Family secured consecutive wins, according to its chairwoman. #The group first took Bay Street by storm a week ago, captivating the judges and crowd with its warrior-like theme that saw them finish first place at the Boxing Day Junkanoo Parade. #Committed to winning for a second time, One Family returned to Bay Street to put on another spectacular show, but this time under the theme: “Happy Hour, Come Celebrate with Us.” #The group wore several eye-catching pieces that paid homage to popular beverages and other forms of entertainment that Bahamians would usually take part in during “happy hour”, wowing the crowd with a colourful display and lively performances. # Ahead of One Family’s performance, fans chanted “Two straight” and “One Family coming,” exciting event goers. # And just as fans had predicted, the group remained undefeated and was declared the unofficial winner of the New Year’s Day event, securing a winning score of 93.37. # They also won several categories, including best music, best off the shoulder, best overall performances, best overall costume and best Shirley Street scores. # The unofficial results were released at around noon yesterday. # Saxons, who won the 2019 New Year’s Day Parade, came in second place with 90.62 points — beating Roots by just one point — and swept categories of best lead costume. # Roots finished third with 90.61 points, the Valley Boys placed fourth with 90.29 points, while Genesis finished fifth with 76.94 points after a ten-point penalty deduction. # Music Makers rounded out the top six after suffering a 42-point penalty. # Christina “Muffin” Fernander, One Family’s chairwoman, was elated about the group’s second victory, describing it as “overwhelming.” # “It is very overwhelming,” she said with tears in her eyes. “We’ve lost members this week preparing for the parade and so you know while we were on the high from winning the Boxing Day, we also (grieving) in losing two of our One Family members. # “After a two-year break and to walk away as successful as One Family did this Junkanoo season, it’s just - words cannot express but it’s all teamwork. It’s not just me. It takes 200 plus persons to get this all done, and I am grateful and appreciative of all of (the) One Family members that support us.” # She explained that last year was a difficult one for the group financially, among other things, but noted that through it all, One Family endured and “pulled through.” # “It’s great motivation to get us now to kick off our 2023/24 season,” she said. # She also told The Tribune the victory was historic, as she was the first female chairman of One Family or any other Junkanoo organisation to secure two consecutive wins. # However, this is not the first time the group has won the parades twice in a row, according to Ms Fernander. # “It’s been 20 years since we’ve done it and have had a consecutive win, but this was my first time as chairman,” she said. # With respect to the B Division groups, Colours emerged victorious, beating the Fancy Dancers, the Immortals, Original Congos, and Body of Christ, which rounded out the top five.

It marks a significant milestone for the group following a two-year hiatus of the cultural event, as it has been some 20 years since One Family secured consecutive wins, according to its chairwoman.

The group first took Bay Street by storm a week ago, captivating the judges and crowd with its warrior-like theme that saw them finish first place at the Boxing Day Junkanoo Parade.

Committed to winning for a second time, One Family returned to Bay Street to put on another spectacular show, but this time under the theme: “Happy Hour, Come Celebrate with Us.”

The group wore several eye-catching pieces that paid homage to popular beverages and other forms of entertainment that Bahamians would usually take part in during “happy hour”, wowing the crowd with a colourful display and lively performances.

Ahead of One Family’s performance, fans chanted “Two straight” and “One Family coming,” exciting event goers.

And just as fans had predicted, the group remained undefeated and was declared the unofficial winner of the New Year’s Day event, securing a winning score of 93.37.

They also won several categories, including best music, best off the shoulder, best overall performances, best overall costume and best Shirley Street scores.

The unofficial results were released at around noon yesterday.

Saxons, who won the 2019 New Year’s Day Parade, came in second place with 90.62 points — beating Roots by just one point — and swept categories of best lead costume.

Roots finished third with 90.61 points, the Valley Boys placed fourth with 90.29 points, while Genesis finished fifth with 76.94 points after a ten-point penalty deduction.

Music Makers rounded out the top six after suffering a 42-point penalty.

Christina “Muffin” Fernander, One Family’s chairwoman, was elated about the group’s second victory, describing it as “overwhelming.”

“It is very overwhelming,” she said with tears in her eyes. “We’ve lost members this week preparing for the parade and so you know while we were on the high from winning the Boxing Day, we also (grieving) in losing two of our One Family members.

“After a two-year break and to walk away as successful as One Family did this Junkanoo season, it’s just - words cannot express but it’s all teamwork. It’s not just me. It takes 200 plus persons to get this all done, and I am grateful and appreciative of all of (the) One Family members that support us.”

She explained that last year was a difficult one for the group financially, among other things, but noted that through it all, One Family endured and “pulled through.”

“It’s great motivation to get us now to kick off our 2023/24 season,” she said.

She also told The Tribune the victory was historic, as she was the first female chairman of One Family or any other Junkanoo organisation to secure two consecutive wins.

However, this is not the first time the group has won the parades twice in a row, according to Ms Fernander.

“It’s been 20 years since we’ve done it and have had a consecutive win, but this was my first time as chairman,” she said.

With respect to the B Division groups, Colours emerged victorious, beating the Fancy Dancers, the Immortals, Original Congos, and Body of Christ, which rounded out the top five.

"Fire" - the latest single by Grammy award-winning Baha Men in collaboration with Latin hitmaker Maffio - has been garnering strides since its release in May, and is a wave the multi-platinum group is looking to capitalize as it gears up for a month-long tour in a pandemic world.

With the release of “Fire” Baha Men makes a triumphant return, while continuing to prove their longevity and ability to craft high energy pop hooks while maintaining a close-knit and familial feel to their music.

“Fire”, the group’s highest-octane single to date, is a fusion of Junkanoo and Latin rhythms. This song offers up a pounding rhythm that is as relentless as it is sexy.

Isaiah Taylor, Baha Men’s leader who also plays bass in the group, hopes the single is the jumpstart for the acclaimed Bahamian group as it makes its return with a 10-city tour of the United States between July 14 and August 14.

“I really hope ‘Fire’ jumpstarts us back out there because you just never know,” said Taylor. “You do songs, but you still don’t know what people will gravitate to at the end of the day. You hope people like it at the end of the day.”

The group leader said the upcoming tour is about them “testing the water.”

“I’m excited, but I am still cautious at the same time.”

As the group prepares to head out, Taylor encourages Bahamians to pray for the them for a successful tour.

“We will need plenty prayer,” said Taylor, who said industry-wide tickets aren’t selling the way they used too.

“Some places, you may not even sell any tickets, like the big white acts. People in this time, they’re trying to count all of their cents and dollars and trying to make their money work for them, instead of just partying out.”

Baha Men’s tour schedule features performances at EPCOT at Walt Disney World, Orlando, July 14-15 and concludes in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire on August 14. They will also play stops in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, and Connecticut along the way – lined up by agents and promoters.

While “Fire” will be on the set list, they are also expected to roll out their Grammy-Award winning “Who Let the Dogs Out”, which Taylor said, 22 years later still has fire.

Dyson Knight, one of Baha Men’s two frontline singers with Rik Carey, said the group is hopeful as they prepare to take to the road.

“Much of what we’re doing with the tour in general is retesting the market in the world’s effort to return to some normalcy,” said Knight.

“It’s exciting, but it’s also a bit scary because we are unsure of what the market is doing right now. We are hopeful that people are okay with it coming out.”

It will also be Knight’s first official tour experience with Baha Men, which he joined in 2004, which meant he missed out on the “Who Let the Dogs Out” tour in its heyday.

As they head out on tour with “Fire” gripping the market, Knight described the single as their “comfort zone” because he said it’s doing extremely well.

“The producer [Maffio] that we worked with has a really good vibe and a nice following and people are excited to see us working together, and a lot of our fans have been popping onto our socials to comment on the song. We are streaming to over a million people now.”

Knight said the single has been a long time coming in terms of the group being able to work with a producer that appreciates the heavy percussive nature that is the sound of Junkanoo, which is featured but filtered on “Fire” – but at the same time, very much present.

“It’s the most present Junkanoo has been in our final mixes for a long time. It’s always in there, but it doesn’t always make the final mix, so ‘Fire’ is a song that we’re happy the world is going to experience, but we’re proud that Bahamians will be able to identify Junkanoo.”

Knight describes the single as a summer dance song with a lot of swag.

Baha Men has also released an official music video for the single to YouTube via Sony Music Latin.

Approaching their 30th anniversary as a group, Baha Men rode a massive wave of success in the early 2000s following the release of hit single, “Who Let the Dogs Out” which featured in motion pictures and chanted throughout sports stadiums, globally. Baha Men unleashed a revolutionary form of Caribbean pop that permeated American pop culture.

It was that hit that would earn the groups several awards, including a 2000 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording as well as Billboard Music Awards for World Music Artist and Album of the Year. The group also won a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award for Favorite Song the same year, then followed it up with another Kids Choice Award for Favorite Band in 2002.

Other Baha Men smash hits include “Move It Like This”, and “Best Years of Our Lives” among others, and “Night and Day”, which was selected to be featured alongside Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Santana and others on the 2014 FIFA World Cup official album.

The new single “Fire” is the group’s first collaboration with Maffio. The song is also featured on Maffio’s new record, Eso Es Mental.

The music video, shot in Miami, Florida, and The Bahamas features Maffio, and is directed by longtime collaborator of Baha Men Charlie “Charlie Bahama” Smith.

As they prepare for the upcoming tour, Knight said the cities they have booked have always been supportive of Baha Men. He said their challenge will be to ensure everyone knows they are on the way so they can book tickets early and ensure that Bahamians resident in the cities attend the performances.

Knight said Taylor is big on rehearsal in preparation for shows, Baha Men usually rehearses daily for weeks.

“It’s always great to have support from all over the world, but it means even much more to have support from home, so I would ask for Bahamians at home and abroad to follow Baha Men’s social, bahamen.com, pick a platform that they frequent the most, follow that, and go check.”

Besides Taylor on bass, Knight and Carey, Baha Men is comprised of Kenwood McKenzie on drums who replaced the late Ivan Prosper, Herschel Small on guitar, Patrick Carey on lead guitar, Anthony “Monks” Flowers on percussion, and Jeffrey Chea on keyboard.

Baha Men’s success also propelled them into the film industry, where they saw several of their songs featured in movies such as Miss Congeniality, Around the World in 80 Days, Garfield: The Movie, Men In Black II, and The Hangover. The single “Best Years of Our Lives” was featured in the international hit film, Shrek.

Baha Men on Tour

July 14 – EPCOT, Walt Disney World, Orlando, FL

July 15 – EPCOT, Walt Disney World, Orlando, FL

August 3 – Brooklyn Bowl, Philadelphia, PA

August 4 – Jergels Rhythm Grill, Warrendale, PA

August 5 – The Bullpen, Washington, DC

August 7 – Musikfest, Bethlehem, PA

August 8 – Rams Head on Stage, Annapolis, MD

August 10 – City Winery, New York, NY

August 12 – Mulcahy’s Pub and Concert Hall, Wantagh, NY

August 13 – Wall Street Theater, Norwalk, CT

August 14 – Bernie’s Beach Bar, Hampton Beach, NH