About Me
Michele Henderson
(Pronounced Meekel)Whether it..s in English, French or Creole; Zouk, R&B, Jazz, Reggae or Retro Soul, the accolades are consistent. Michele Henderson is fast becoming one of the Caribbean..s premier female vocal talents. No stranger to the entertainment scene in her native land of Dominica, Michele..s status as an all rounder - writer, flautist and vocalist, is growing by leaps and bounds throughout the Caribbean and further a field with every performance. She has been featured in Caribbean magazines such as ..She.., ..Home Companion.., ..Maco.., ..Caribbean Beat.. & ..The Beat.., on regional television programs such as Caribscope & E-zone and in the international media including BET Jazz.
In December 1995, she joined the band Impact and in November 1996, they released their first and only project entitled ..Islander,.. with three songs accredited to Michele.
Michele received the ..Fame.. award in Dominica for the ..best recorded.. female artist for 1997. She also received the ..Emergens.. award in Martinique for being a successful young and upcoming Caribbean Artist. She also received the ..Auguiste Etienne Award.. from the Youth Division in Dominica for her achievements as a young person. Michele received further acclaim for her contributions on the Creole flavored ..Mizik a Nou.. compilations Vol. 1, 2 & 3, released for Dominica..s World Creole Music Festival of 1997-1999.
Michele has a long streak of performances at song contests, and festivals representing Dominica. In 1998, Michele competed at the CBU song contest in Barbados. In 2000, Michele, was part of the Dominican contingent at ..Carifesta 2000.. in St. Kitts. In June of 2001, Michele performed at the Grenada Spice Jazz Festival sharing the stage with the likes of Boogsie Sharpe, Nestor Torres and Third World where she gave a riveting performance. In July 2001, Michele represented Dominica at the 4th Games of the Francophone in Ottawa, Canada. In August of 2001, Michele performed at the inaugural Archipel Concert held in Martinique. She returned to Martinique to perform at the year-end festival of Anse d'Arlet.
2002 began where 2001 left off. Michele was privileged to perform at the Barbados Congaline festival 2002 on World Beat Night alongside the legendary Zouk act Kassav. In May of 2002, Michele fulfilled a childhood ambition with three performances at the St. Lucia Jazz Festival. So the region was exposed to this budding Dominican songstress and talent.
In October 2000, Michele released her self-entitled debut album ..Michele Henderson...
In October of 2001, this young and ambitious talent took an unprecedented step to perform a Creole Special in the Arawak House of Culture in Dominica, and the CD ..Michele Henderson, Creole Special Live at the Arawak House of Culture.., is the result.
Michele was included on the 2002 & 2003 line-up for the 6th and 7th annual World Creole Music Festivals.
2003 brought a great sense of achievement to Michele and her band when her third album, ..Sound check.., was awarded ..Album of the Year - 2002.. by the Foundation for Artists Musicians and Entertainers (FAME), a foundation established in Dominica. Michele was further honored when ..Sing for Africa.., a magnificently crafted track from the Sound check album, was awarded ..Song of the year-2002... She was again, honored, by being invited for a second consecutive appearance at the St. Lucia Jazz Festival in 2003.
2004 took Michele and her band farther than they..d ever gone when they performed along side Beenie Man and Extatic at the UCLA Jazz & Reggae Festival in Los Angeles. They went on to Europe to perform at two major festivals in Belgium. The reviews were outstanding. Another performance at the World Creole Music Festival saw a new and improved Michele and her band as well as the release of a brand new album titled ..Mwen Aime..w... She was also appointed Official Goodwill Ambassador to Dominica by the government. Michele received a special recognition award from the division of Culture at their 2004 Golden Drum award ceremony for her contribution to culture in Dominica.
The island of St. Vincent got a taste of Michele..s talent when she performed at their acclaimed Blues Festival in January of 2005. Her performance was so well received that she was invited back in April for a sold out concert at the Iguana Club. She went on to perform at St. Lucia Jazz alongside Rob ..Zi.. Taylor, saxophonist extraordinaire. Michele spent the summer in Europe where she performed at the prestigious Roskilde Festival in Denmark, was featured on the cover of German travel magazine, the Karibik Journal followed by performances in Paris. After a smashing performance at the 9th Annual World Creole Music Festival in 2005, Michele began working on her next project; a DVD of that very WCMF performance.
2006 proved to be a busy year for Michele with performances in Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Antigua and Trinidad already under her belt. She also traveled to Finland and Estonia in July, for performances there. Michele spent the rest of her 2006 summer in the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire & Curacao) lending her vocal talents to the Freewinds band. She also performed alongside Ophelia Marie at Carifesta and at the San Fernando Jazz Festival in Trinidad in September. Their presentations were celebrated in the press as being the highlight of the events. Michele is has since released her new DVD and is very excited about that. She's been travelling back and forth to Guadeloupe working on yet another album with production studio ..Crazy Sound... but being a lover of calypso, Michele has taken time off to be in Dominica for the calypso season. All in all the future looks really bright for this Caribbean Star!
