Concerned that local entertainment is not being respected in the country, Grand Bahama Entertainers Musicians and Artist Association (GBEMAA) President Joe Fox said yesterday that for far too long this necessary element of the tourism industry has been dormant and it needs to come alive.
Addressing members of the Rotary Club of Lucaya during their weekly meeting at the Ruby Swiss, Fox explained that if one were to travel the world, entertainment is the highlight of many countries. However, he is convinced that The Bahamas is not in the category of nations that see its local entertainment as important.
He noted that in order to save what he believes is a dying entertainment industry, a number of well-known Bahamian artists in Grand Bahama came together about two months ago and formed the GBEMAA. The organisation currently has 125 active members. Their main goal is to look at ways to turn around Grand Bahama’s entertainment industry and to improve the quality of life for its members by creating job opportunities for them.
Determined to save this dying commodity of Bahamian culture, Fox said he is very concerned about the number of entertainers and musicians in Grand Bahama who cannot find work. He added that many of them feel that despite their hard-earned talent and scarifies to provide wholesome entertainment in a professional manner, they are still unappreciated and overshadowed by foreign music.
“We want to get entertainment in Grand Bahama back on stream,” Fox said. “Another goal of the association is artist development. There are a lot of young artists as well as professionals who need to get themselves back strongly in the realm of entertainment, especially in the hotels.”
Fox told Rotarians that he wishes local entertainers could flood hotels like they used to do many years ago when entertainment was respected in the country. Nowadays, he said, it is no longer being respected.
“Tourism has to understand that no matter how much money you put in America, Europe or Canada to bring tourists here, it makes no sense to bring visitors here if there is no entertainment here for them,” he said. “I have travelled to many places in the world and this is the only place where there is no major entertainment, and this seems to be passing by our government and our community.”
Entertainment, he said, is very important because it soothes the heart and it is a big concern for the association because no one in authority is making it a priority in Grand Bahama.
“We are an organisation without any funding and without any help, but we are trying to get entertainment back in Grand Bahama,” Fox said.
The GBEMAA president said that since its inception, the association has received support from entertainers in New Providence, Bimini and now 57 individuals wish to join GBEMMA as members in Abaco.
Fox said the only way that local entertainment can be brought into large hotels and resorts in the country is to have the Ministry of Tourism work closely with the association so that visitors can get a sample of real Bahamian music.
“We have to be realistic about this situation. The Ministry of Tourism or government has to give us funding in order for us to develop our acts so that we can come in a professional way” he said. “We too have some faults and those faults are that we must learn to be there on time, conduct ourselves professionally and give a unique performance.
“So we need Tourism to come on-board with us and help us to get into the hotels. They should not have hotels as big as Our Lucaya with a radio turned on and no entertainment.”
Fox said for those who might believe that local entertainers charge too much money to perform, if they are professional and provide extraordinary music then why should they not be paid?
“The money is not just for their performance,” he said. “It is also for maintenance of their equipment among other pertinent things. All of this is necessary so that they can give you their best when they perform.”
The GBEMAA has meetings on the second and last Monday of every month at the Jokers Wild Club beginning at 6:30 p.m. Fox said that the meeting is open to all entertainers, established or not, who are interested in salvaging what is left of Grand Bahama’s entertainment industry.
By LISA S. KING, Freeport News Asst. Editor
