The renowned Aruba Music Festival kicks off its seventh year this October 10 -11, 2008 at the Aruba Entertainment Centre in the capital city of Oranjestad.

 

The festival dates back to the early 1980’s when it was originally called the Aruba Jazz and
Latin Festival and featured the exact type of music that title suggests- Jazz & Latin music.
Tito Puente, Arturo Sandoval, Santana and Marc Anthony were among some of the previous headliners. The festival’s name changed in 2001 to include global music with superstar headliners such as John Mayer, Lionel Richie, Queen with Paul Rodgers and  The Doobie Brothers among others.

 

This year R.E.O Speedwagon will perform opening night, October 10th and Gloria Estefan will close out the celebrations when she performs October 11th. The venue now includes a second stage that will highlight local bands as well as jazz and Latin music which put the festival on the global concert map in the first place.

 

It is always a great time to visit the enchanting Caribbean island of Aruba, however in October you will have fun in the sun, sand and now great music! Book your tickets now- Prices range from the $50.00 – $125.00. The other notable festival in Aruba this year is the Caribbean Sea Jazz Festival which runs September 5th and 6th.