The promoter behind the failed One Caribbean Music Festival is sounding the alarm. Odane Anderson, head of Jacho Entertainment, says he’s now fearing for his life after borrowing heavily to pay for the now-cancelled headline performance by dancehall superstar Vybz Kartel. “Right now, my life is in danger because of borrowing investors’ money; [I] cannot pay it back,” Anderson confessed in an interview with Guardian Media. “The shareholders have to get paid. Other service suppliers have to get paid. So, my next step is to try to find common grounds to work it out.”
Anderson had paid Kartel an upfront sum of US$950,000, part of a US$1.35 million contract, for what was expected to be the deejay’s first major Caribbean appearance in decades. However, Kartel pulled out just hours before the show, citing contract breaches. The promoter, now under investigation by Trinidadian authorities, insists the funds were acquired through legitimate banking channels and refutes any wrongdoing.
Adding to the tension, Anderson claims that it was last-minute government restrictions—particularly by Defence Minister Wayne Sturge—that disrupted Kartel’s itinerary and sowed doubt about his travel, triggering the fallout. “If he knew he was uncomfortable with the Government restriction on him… I find weeks before or days before he could have said it,” Anderson argued, lamenting that a timely withdrawal would’ve allowed him to postpone the event and avoid financial ruin.
Kartel, however, has pushed back, taking to social media to clarify that the government was not the issue. Instead, he accused the promoter of filling his schedule with non-performance-related appearances, prompting intervention from the authorities. Now, with lawsuits looming and a public refund crisis underway, Anderson’s next move may determine the fate of his company—and his safety.
