THE DAILY ADVERTISER
Interview with Taj Weekes
“[Manager] Shirley [Menard] had been talking to the Festival people for two years, and now I have the chance to play,” Weekes said. “I don’t play people, I play music, but it’s always good to get the vibration of the crowd to get high energy flowing.”
Weekes got that flow going last night, and will be back on stage on Sunday.
“My grandfather was Ethiopian, and the name Adowa is a recognition of the line,” he said. “Adowa is the name of a battle between Ethiopians and the Italians. The band is really a cross section of the Caribbean.”
“We play most of our dates in the States, in the midwest and the west coast. We want to do more internationally. We’re working our way down South and to the east. There is always someone who hasn’t heard you play, and our intention is to fill it all up.”
Weekes’ other passion is TOCO — They Often Cry Outreach — a U.S. -based nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of underprivileged, at-risk and orphaned children in the Caribbean through sport, enrichment, educational and wellness programs.
“The name TOCO is taken from the name of a song — They Often Cry,” Weekes said. “We wanted to shine the spotlight on the Caribbean. When poverty, violence and disease are discussed, no one thinks about the Caribbean. It’s just a place to vacation and sit in the sun.”
Weekes knows differently. St. Lucia has one of the highest rates of diabetes per capita in the world, and Weekes has a documentary called Bittersweet that will be released in November, addressing the problem.
“They look at the bare feet of children playing soccer in the street and don’t realize it’s because they have no shoes. It’s my mission to expand awareness and aid for these issues, which equally affect the Caribbean, especially for the children and youth.
“I was in St. Lucia four weeks ago. We had the Clothesline Project to draw attention to domestic abuse. We had women and children write on a T-shirt the type of abuse they suffered, then we hung the shirts in a public square and set up counseling booths so they could talk about it.”