Local Cultural Ambassador and International Artiste Kevin Lyttle has taken to the social networking site Facebook to air his dissatisfaction with not being a part of Sunday’s benefit concert for Dominica.
Lyttle in a video post on Facebook says his absence from the concert was as a result of the travel agency responsible for booking the flights of all artistes not being able to secure his flight in and out of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Lyttle says he finds such action to be very unprofessional, and unacceptable; and says it is also his belief that it was a deliberate act to not have him be a part of Sunday’s benefit concert.
The Cultural Ambassador says he was very excited to be a part of the show and had promised his fans in St. Vincent a great time, since they have not seen him performing on stage for quite some time.
And, as questions continue to surface as to why local cultural ambassador Kevin Lyttle did not make his scheduled performance at Sunday’s benefit concert in aid of Dominica, this country’s Minister of Foreign affairs Camillo Gonsalves is attempting to address the matter.
Speaking to NBC news yesterday Minister Gonsalves describes Kevin Lyttle as a modern national treasure; and adds that one of the many signs of the respect that the Government has for the international artiste is the fact that he has the title of Cultural Ambassador and that he carries a diplomatic passport.
Minister Gonsalves says he regrets that Mr. Lyttle was unable to be a part of the show, adding that he would have been a great addition. He says he is confident that people enjoyed a full show, with over seventeen performers and that the people of Dominica were the ultimate beneficiaries.
Minister Gonsalves further adds that he has seen the Facebook posting by Kevin Lyttle and argues that some of his claims in the video contradict what he has been told.
However, the Foreign Affairs Minister says he has no intention of getting into a public back and forth with Mr. Lyttle on social media or any other media and says he would encourage the artiste and/or his wife, who also serves as Mr. Lyttle’s Manager to reach out to him or any of the other organizing members.
Minister Gonsalves also says that it is unfortunate that Lyttle’s Facebook posting came on the day of the show, and that there have been a number of radio interviews and newspaper articles about the issue in the days after. Minister Gonsalves adds that he is sure that the Vincentian Artiste does not want in any way to detract or distract from the relief effort and reiterates that while he-minister Gonsalves regrets Lyttle’s absence from the event, he celebrates the success of the concert itself.
Meanwhile, when NBC news contacted the travel agent that was responsible for booking the flights of all the regional and international artistes that were part of Sunday’s Benefit Concert, General Manager of Irie Travels, Kenneth Bibby declined to comment on the issue, stating that he does not wish to be a part of the saga.
