St. Maarten Heineken Regatta – Akon to perform

by St. Maarten Heineken Regatta on 16 Jan 2016 St. Maarten Heineken Regatta – This March, the Caribbean island of St. Maarten will host Grammy nominated, American Music Award winning international music sensation Akon. The St. Maarten Heineken Regatta has booked the superstar to be the headline act for the Sunday entertainment line-up. The regatta, which takes place March 3-6, 2016, will welcome more than 3000-5000 guests to the island including sailors and concert goers. In addition to four days of professional racing, they will also host four nights of free concerts with some of the world's best musical entertainment.

Akon's distinct voice has been permeating the airwaves for over a decade. In addition to an astounding 300 guest appearances with music icons such as Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, R.Kelly and Gwen Stefani, his music has hit the charts repeatedly, and has earned him 45 Billboard top 100 spots.

Raised in Africa and the United States, he first came onto the music scene with his album titled Trouble in 2004 which spawned several singles including 'Locked Up' and 'Lonely'. His silky smooth vocals had him climbing the charts in both the UK and the USA.

The singer/songwriter, who's music crosses genres like R&B, pop, hip hop and dance, didn't stop there. He went on to start his own record labels Kovinct and KonLive which jump-started the careers of both Lady Gaga and T-Pain. Music fans can easily identify his songs from his soulful voice and distinctive sound. His hits such as 'Right Now' and 'Smack That' have been played around the world. His upbeat rhythms and infectious tunes will certainly make the Sunday night of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta one to remember.

Akon is not just a musician and producer; he has also broadened his resume to include acting. He starred in the motion picture 'Black November' alongside Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger. In addition to his contributions to the music and film industry, Akon has now put his efforts into a completely different project.

In February of 2014, Akon partnered up with several organizations in an effort to bring electricity to homes across Africa. The project called 'Akon lighting Africa' aims to address Africa's energy crisis and work towards laying the groundwork for improvement. At the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All Forum on May 21, 2015, Akon announced the plans for a solar academy in Mali, which will add job training to his company's work of bringing solar power to rural communities around the continent. At the time of his UN address, there were already 14 countries where solar power had been put into use by 'Akon Lighting Africa'.

John Leone, commercial director at International Liquors and Tobacco, distributors of Heineken in St. Maarten adds 'We are super excited to bring such a superstar to the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta event and the island. This will be no doubt one of the biggest party weekends in the Caribbean this year. Akon has tons of hits and his on stage performance is full of energy and crowd interaction. This will be the perfect highlight to a great four days of parties, concerts and world class racing! Open your world and come join us!'