THREE of Bermuda’s rising stars have returned from the Kentucky Derby with hopes of making their mark in the big leagues in the near future. Singers Twanée Butterfield, KeAngelo Maybury and Ninja Cutty performed at one of the “most highly profiled” functions leading up to the main event — the 15th annual Kentucky Minority Scholarship Fundraiser Inc. Hosted by Senator Gerald Neal and his wife Kathy on May 4, it regularly attracts an elite group of guests from the arenas of politics, entertainment, business and sport. The performance opportunity came through a chance meeting between the senator and Integrated Global Management (IGM) president Keetha Lowe.

“Part of it was happenstance,” Sen. Neal said, explaining that he and Ms Lowe met through another project. “I talked to Keetha, who told me about the variety of talent and then she sold me on the level of talent. We began the process of seeing how beneficial it could be in terms of exposure for the artists and in terms of the event we were holding.”

The origins of the Kentucky Minority Scholarship Fundraiser Inc. date back close to 20 years when Sen. and Mrs. Neal would host a get together for friends on the eve of the Kentucky Derby. In those early days, admission was free and everyone pitched in, he recalled.

“My wife and I started this more than 15 years ago in our home. We set up a tent on the lawn, she and her friends would cook all the food and whoever arrived first would tend bar,” he laughed. “It started with 23 people - we saw it as an opportunity to come together - and then it grew to almost 1,400 people. The traffic tied up the neighbourhood for six or seven blocks. Basically it got too big. We were going to stop and then the idea came that if we charged (entry) and selected a cause, it becomes a party with a purpose.”

It was agreed the charity would benefit African Americans short on cash but otherwise interested in pursuing college degrees.

Its success is evidenced in the hundreds of thousands of dollars that have gone towards scholarships for students who would otherwise have struggled to further their education.

“Today Kathy and I are the principle organisers, helped out by volunteers,” Sen. Neal explained. “We have all these folks from around the world coming in for a festive time, the Kentucky Derby Week and ours is one of the major events highlighted in local newspapers because we encourage and support the activities of young people who are seeking higher education.

“Fifteen years ago marks the period where we started charging for the event and our friends still come. This year it rained incessantly, the most ever at Derby time, and people came anyway.”

When the event was held at their home, a live band and - in the later hours - a DJ entertained guests.

“It’s since morphed into a three-segment activity. There’s light entertainment and then a show - which this year included Keetha’s performers - and at the end, a DJ where people can get out on the dance floor and really enjoy themselves.”

According to Sen. Neal, his audience was thrilled with the performances given by the Bermudian trio while he was equally impressed by how well Ms Lowe handled their promotion.

“I have to say I was really struck by the aggressiveness and professionalism of Keetha and her company. The way she handled it, how she provided us with any information when we needed it. It gave credibility to the effort otherwise it would have never happened. She was fantastic. She very effectively presented and provided the necessary information and got them here. It worked perfectly. It was a tremendous affair. People are still talking about it. It enhanced our event and gave them exposure. Now people are asking when they’ll come back,” he laughed.

According to Ms Lowe the performance came about through a host of efforts, with its success in no small part due to the sponsorship and assistance of the Bermuda Department of Tourism.

“We knew that we were going in and we had to make a great impression,” she said of the visit earlier this month. “When you meet the senator, when you interact with the senator, when you dialogue and strategise with him — you know you’re dealing with an individual who is of profound means and resources, someone who’s astute. So for us in Bermuda to convince him that we could perform to a certain level, and then deliver upon arrival, was of absolute critical importance.”

Ms Lowe said she was acutely aware that in her contact with the senator, she wasn’t just representing her own interests.

“We were representing the artists, we were representing the Department of Tourism and we were representing Bermuda. That’s a lot to carry in there and deliver on but we did in full fashion. I know that the Department of Tourism and Premier Ewart Brown have taken great strides to turn this industry around,” she said in explaining her desire to live up to the benchmark set by that office. “IGM had the privilege and the pleasure of working with (Dr. Brown) and his department in 2005 when we manoeuvred Bermuda into front place position in Ebony magazine with respect to the article recognising Bermuda as one of the top new destinations for the African-American traveller. We take great pride in the fact that he understood my vision in that and the importance of capitalising on the opportunity when it came. I can’t say the rest of Bermuda knew, but I knew he was going to be Premier by the end of the year.”

The article, which ran in January 2006, “ended up becoming a commemorative issue because it was the Rosa Parks issue”, she said.

“Both the Premier and myself offered comments inside of that issue and I can say that as far as our assessment and insight on the direction that the country is going in, it needs to go in or should be going in, we were spot on point. Here it is a year later, he has pushed himself to the top of the country, he is aggressively attacking any challenges that we have with tourism and IGM, in its own way, has been able to contribute.”

Similar private/public collaboration in the future, would reap even greater benefits for Bermudian performers, Ms Lowe added.

“Our hope really is that we will continue to have these types of synergies, that we will continue to be able to support these types of efforts because when the exposure is generated, visibility is generated, when the credibility is established that comes with it, then it’s not just for the benefit of IGM, it comes as a benefit to the country.

“We have a massive opportunity to make some global impressions and the question now is, ‘Who is willing to align, to come on board and execute it? The truth is, even with the resources IGM has, when you come in forces you generate great strength. As far as the senator and various members of his organising committee are concerned, they really wish to embrace Bermuda and take this to a level further. We’ve already received an invite to come back next year. Will it be Twanée, KeAngelo and Ninja Cutty? It could be, but it also could be others.”

She praised the trio for their outstanding performances which she felt boded well for building connections with influential music producers and recording studio heads.

“We didn’t go in there on a backstage ticket. We didn’t arrive on an invite that didn’t have much substance to it. We were invited in by the senator of District 33. We networked and performed and promoted our talent and our country in front of congress people, in front of senators, in front of shakers and movers of every industry you can possibly conceive.

“To arrive in Kentucky and watch Twanée onstage and literally captivate the audience, to see KeAngelo, a newcomer just articulating his talent, to see Ninja Cutty take the audience by storm and own them — it was all evidence that it can be done, it should be done and it will be done. They deserve the opportunity.

“Most of these artists, by the time they get to this position, they’ve sung in the bathroom, they’ve written on I can’t tell you how many different pieces of paper to create a song, they’ve been turned down, rejected and neglected.

“They have, unfortunately had their aspirations and dreams stunted because of the costs that are involved and they often come with the talent but they don’t come with the resources — the public relations and networking. And so to be able to merge that with a source that actually executes these types of things and physically see it come to pass, that’s as much evidence as anyone needs. Already the calls have started in, asking if they would be able to perform in some of the upcoming events here.

“As a result of the success that occurred in Kentucky, we’ve had (one of the members of the national organisation) 100 Black Men of America (who the trio performed before at a private reception while there) approach IGM with a view of assisting artists coming out of Bermuda in terms of visibility, touring opportunity and networking opportunity at a higher entertainment level. We’re also in discussions with an agency in Detroit which is reviewing material and has expressed an interest to network us into events there.”