There were still two more days of this year’s Saint Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival following Kes the Band’s terrific Friday night headlining set (May 8) — and the soca group cleared all the competition.
Fronted by Kees Dieffenthaller, who also goes by Kes, the band delivered an hour of high-energy renditions of contemporary soca bangers like “Wotless,” “Savannah Grass” and “Cocoa Tea.” The festival stop is just the latest in a string of hectic periods for the band — including a pair of Jazz @ Lincoln Center shows in January and the forthcoming North American leg of its Roots, Rock, Soca Tour.
“[Saint Lucia] Jazz always has such a mixed bag of performers that blows me away,” Kes tells Billboard after soundcheck. “When I was coming down on the plane, I had the chance to have a one-on-one with Billy Ocean, who’s also from Trinidad. He was sitting straight across from me, so I was able to reason and vibe with him, asking him a few questions. I love how Jazz brings together different genres and generations.”
Friday night also kicked off a particularly poignant weekend for the group. The day prior (May 8), Kes the Band made its NPR Tiny Desk debut, marking another landmark moment for the soca stars in a year full of them. If that stripped-down environment showed how Kes could take advantage of small, intimate rooms, the band’s Saint Lucia Jazz set proved they’re more equipped to handle sprawling crowds and venues than most of their peers.
Featuring hits like “Fallin’” and “Hello,” Kes’ Tiny Desk set also brought a pair of notable backup vocalists: Saint Lucia’s very own Teddyson John and Trinidad and Tobago’s Calyopso Monarch for 2026, Terri Lyons. The band also added steelpan player Dane Gulston to further flesh out their sound and showcase Caribbean music and instrumentation to the world. During the seamless performance, Kes also had pictures of his late sister, filmmaker Danielle Dieffenthaller, placed on the desk before him, underscoring the emotional heft of singing “Savannah Grass.”
“That was a dream come true,” he gushes. “I’ve wanted [to play a Tiny Desk set] ever since I fell in love with the platform. It’s a good space for us to showcase our musicianship outside of the frenzy of a fete. When I shot the ‘We Home’ virtual performance during COVID, I was thinking of it as my audition tape for Tiny Desk; it’s just great for the culture. And [with the pictures], everybody was present, and we truly felt their presence.”
Though he skipped it for Tiny Desk, Kes did perform his new Di Genius collaboration, “Masterpiece,” which serves as the Trini star’s take on the acclaimed producer’s “Hill & Gully” riddim. Heavily influenced by mento, a style of early Jamaican folk music, the riddim has quickly become one of the hottest in the dancehall scene — and now soca. Of course, Kes has dabbled in dancehall throughout the years, dating back to 2012’s “Tuesday on the Rocks” and “My Love,” the latter being his take on TJ Record’s “Summer Wave” riddim. “Masterpiece” arrived on digital service providers the day after Kes rocked Saint Lucia Jazz (May 9), setting the song up nicely with a splashy launch.
“Nobody expected that! But when you listen to the riddim and hear the mento roots, you can see how I would suit that style,” Kes explains. “This is positioned to be one of the major riddims this summer — and Genius hadn’t brought one out in a minute. We’re both signed to Warner Chappell Music as songwriters, so we’ve worked in similar spaces. The first thing I told him when I heard the riddim was, ‘Mento!!!’ We went to the studio and got it done quickly; then, I went to Jamaica for their Carnival and shot the music video there.”
Although Kes has dropped off a new tune just in time for the beginning of the summer, he’s still playing coy about his band’s next full-length project. “I’m spending the entire year writing, and by the end of the year, I’ll be finished,” he teases. “I’m in the works of a new album, so I’m looking forward to bringing forward some crazy. I’m always tinkering!”
Next up, Kes the Band launches the North American leg of its Roots, Rock, Soca Tour on May 23 at Soca Fest in Orlando, Fla. They will play theaters and amphitheaters across major cities — including a Forest Hills Stadium date in New York City on June 27 — before concluding on Aug 16 with a joint show alongside Jamaican reggae legend Beres Hammond in Duluth, Ga.
