The Source is providing short feature stories on the musicians taking part in the St. John Christmas Music Festival. The lineup includes Nestor Torres, the Paoli Mejias Latin Jazz Quintet, and the Eddie Russell Quelbe Latin Jazz Dec. 16, Kim Waters and Maryel Epps Dec. 17, and St. John's Inner Visions Dec. 18. For more on these artists, go to the music section of the Source.
Maryel Epps
Maryel Epps is a diva – in the most positive sense of the word.
Epps, who is playing at the St. John Christmas Music Festival Dec. 17, is a highly acclaimed singer, songwriter and actress. She has acted in the ABC daytime drama "One Life to Live," and she has appeared on television on "Deco Drive" and in the Spike Lee film "Mo Better Blues" and Oliver Stone’s "Any Given Sunday".
But she will be playing music, not acting, at the December festival.
Epps, who is from south Florida, says her music "is a spiritual thrust into the world of Jazz from my humble gospel roots." She has toured in South America and Europe and has released a solo album, "Sounds of the Heart."
She has performed and recorded with Bob Dylan, Chaka Khan, Dizzy Gillespe, David Lee Roth, David Bowie, Patti Labelle and others.
About the Festival
In an effort to bring the community together during the holiday season, concert producer and St. John resident Steve Simon, has organized the first St. John Christmas Music Festival.
Simon says he decided to organize the event at the suggestion of fellow St. John residents Ira Wade and Julien Harley.
The festival runs Dec. 16 through Dec. 18, with free music and events all three evenings at the Winston Wells Ballfield in Cruz Bay.
The event's sponsors are Donald Sussman, Premier Wine & Spirits, The Westin Resort and Villas, Holiday Homes, American Paradise Real Estate, Tropical Properties, Theodore Tunick and Co., First Bank, The Inn at Tamarind Court, and the Tourism Department.
For more on the St. John Christmas Music Festival, see "St. John's Christmas Will Be Filled With Music".