The Tobago Jazz Experience was formally known as the Plymouth Jazz Festival. It was created in 2005. It is noted not only for the quality of performers it attracts but also for its relaxed and welcoming atmosphere.
In its opening year, Stevie Wonder was the headliner along with Natalie Cole and India Arie. In 2010, Grammy award winner Chaka Khan and Erykah Badu were the headlining performers. The festival is not only a showcase for famous musicians but also for local talent, such as the WITCO Desperados and Phase II Pan Groove steel orchestras led by maestros Robert Greenidge and Len "Boogsie" Sharpe.
Aside from the music, attendees can enjoy a wide variety of food, street processions through local villages, local arts and crafts and firework displays. Performer Steel Pulse summed up the friendly atmosphere as "great universal love--it's what I been dreamin' of."
Louis Armstrong, known as the Ambassador of Jazz, explained what is in the mind of a jazz singer, "The memory of things gone is important to a jazz musician. Things like old folks singing in the moonlight in the back yard on a hot night or something said long ago."