Tomorrow, Friday, April 8, Astra will be hosting another After Hours event filled with live music, delicious tapas, great drinks and all-round good vibes. The local Control Band will provide sweet tunes from 10:00pm until 1:00am. Afterwards, DJ Patrice will keep the party going until 3:00am. Thank God it’s almost Friday!
Of course, Astra would not be Astra without their amazing food and drinks. Besides a great selection of cocktails, beers and wines, the restaurant will be serving a wide variety of tapas during the show. Think fresh oysters, Caribbean crab cakes, lollipop chicken, grilled octopus – these are just a few of the delicious munch options while enjoying the show; but Astra will be open all day, so you can stop by for a lovely dinner overlooking the lagoon before the show. Just make sure to make a reservation as you might not be the only one with that idea.
Sit back and read all about the performing artists below.
Control Band
About 40 years ago, some of St. Maarten’s finest musicians came together and formed the Control band. The group started playing at a local hotel resort, and within a short period became very popular for their perfect blend of voices, which soon led to them playing at different venues on the island, including on the French side.
With their musical breath, the Control band was the first group to bring life to the famous Cheri's Café. After playing there for a few years, there was increasing demand for the Control band to perform. As a result, Control contributed to the success of many clubs, and dancing spots on St. Maarten, such as “La Belle Vie” Port de Plaisance; The Ranch, Grand Case; Coralita Hotel (Sundays); Booboo Jam Restaurant / Club), Lekkerbek Restaurant; Big Daddy’s night club; Wathey’s Estate; Caribbean Blend; Sunset and many more popular venues.
The success of Control can be attributed to their consistent, good-sounding, versatile music, with which they have been able to attract fans from all walks of life. Control has been privileged to play with La perfecta, Orquestra de la Luz, Doble RR, Third World, Fuerza Dos, The Mighty Sparrow, Maxi Priest, Lucky Dube, Cache, T-Vice, Carimi, Claudius Philips & the Oreo Band, Impact Band (Aruba), Ban By’o, Typical Combo, Onion & Three cylinder Band, 17 Plus Band, Arnell Y su Orquestra, ERA Band, Chispa Band, Gio Y su Orquestra, Axa Band, and many more international artists. The band has also travelled to Aruba, Curaçao, St. Eustatius, Saba, Bonaire, Anguilla, St. Barths and Holland.
Today, Control can boast that it is one of St. Maarten’s longest existing musical bands, and the second longest existing group in the former Netherlands Antilles. This is a band which is consistent, persistent, very active, disciplined and only interested in providing a collection of music to their fans.
DJ Patrice
Emmanuel Patrice Duruo was born on October 30, 1967, in Saint Martin and is a proud resident of Grand Case, the beautiful gourmet capital of the Caribbean. DJ Patrice started his deejaying career in 1998. Up to now, he has played for many staff parties, was resident DJ at a small club by the name of Lago High, and played in many other clubs, including Tantra and Soggy Dollar Bar.
DJ Patrice: “My specialty in music is zouk, kompa and soca, but I also mix my music as well with some Latin music bachata, salsa, merengue and Montuno.”
