Kool & The Gang, NE-YO, Ricky Martin and Snoop Dogg attending Curaçao North Sea Jazz 2025

With great enthusiasm we present the first names for the eleventh edition of the Curaçao North Sea Jazz Festival. On August 28, 29 and 30, the audience can enjoy performances by Kool & The Gang, NE-YO, Ricky Martin, Snoop Dogg and many others.

The festival opens on Wednesday, August 27 with a free concert by QUIQUE in Kura Hulanda Village. The three other festival days will take place as usual at the World Trade Center at Piscadera Bay. On Thursday, August 28, Gilberto Santa Rosa and Kool & The Gang will make their appearance there, while on Friday, August 29, Gipsy Kings by Diego Baliardo, Kandace Springs, Ne-Yo, Paul Carrack, Ricky Martin and Sheila E. and the E-train will perform. Confirmed for Saturday August 30th are Cimafunk, Cory Henry, Gonzalo Rubalcaba & Hamilton De Holanda with special guests Ivan Lins and Gabriel Grossi, Jacob Collier and Snoop Dogg. More names will be announced in the coming months.

Nicknamed “El Caballero de la Salsa” (The Gentleman of Salsa), Gilberto Santa Rosa is a Puerto Rican bandleader and singer of salsa and bolero. He released a whole string of successful albums, is a six-time Grammy Award winner and has sold over three million records in the United States and Puerto Rico. His latest abum Debut y Segunda Tanda, Vol. 2 was released in 2024.

Kool & the Gang broke through in 1973 with the album Wild And Peaceful, and had a string of hits such as Ladies’ Night, Celebration, Get Down On It, Let's Go Dancin' (Ooh La La La), Joanna, and Cherish. It made them one of the leading funk/disco bands from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. The band sold over 70 million records worldwide and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2024.

Gipsy Kings by Diego Baliardo a family band from France, but with Catalan roots. After traveling around their country and playing at weddings, festivals, and in the streets, the 1980s brought them fame with their self-titled third album, which included the hit songs Djobi Djoba and Bamboléo. Diego Bailardo was a founding member and now fronts this band, with original Gypsy Kings members as well as a new generation.

Kandace Springs is an American jazz and soul singer and pianist, born in Nashville, Tennessee. She grew up on her father's records of Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Dusty Springfield. As she grew older, her own tastes included artists such as Sade and Lauryn Hill; vocalists she honored on her deeply personal album The Women Who Raised Me. Springs' fifth album, Run Your Race, was released last year.

NE-YO is a three-time Grammy® Award-winning hitmaker, iconic songwriter, actor, entrepreneur and philanthropist whose illustrious catalogue has generated a combined total of 23 billion streams worldwide. He’s known for global hits like Miss Independent, Closer, and his debut single, So Sick, which went quadruple platinum and topped the Billboard Hot 100. He has also penned chart-topping tracks for artists such as Rihanna, Beyoncé, and Usher. Most recently, he released his hit single Show Me.

Puerto Rican singer and superstar Ricky Martin began his solo career in 1991 and found international fame with his third album, 1995’s A Medio Vivir, and hits including María, La Copa De La Vida, Livin’ La Vida Loca, She Bangs, Nobody Wants To Be Lonely and many more. One of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time, Martin has sold over 70 million records worldwide. He has two Grammy’s, five Latin Grammy’s and many other prestigious awards to his name.

As the daughter of famed jazz percussionist Pete Escovedo, Sheila E. was born with a love for drums and congas. In the 1980s, her collaboration with Prince led to worldwide fame and hits such as The Glamorous Life, The Belle Of St. Mark and A Love Bizarre. Sheila E. also worked with many other artists, including Phil Collins, Gloria Estefan and Beyoncé. Last year, she released her ninth album, Bailar, and the single Bemba Colorá, which earned her her first-ever Grammy.

“Britain's best blue-eyed soul singer” Paul Carrack gained fame both solo and as a member of several well-known bands, such as Ace, Squeeze and Mike + The. He has also released a string of solo albums and scored a hit of his own with 1988’s Don’t Shed A Tear. Now in his seventies, this man the BBC dubbed “The Man with the Golden Voice” is still going strong, touring extensively and releasing albums: his latest is 2024’s How Long.

Cimafunk is the alter ego of Cuban-born singer, composer and producer Erik Alejandro Iglesias Rodriguez, who is known for mixing funk and hip hop with Cuban and Afro-Caribbean music. On his acclaimed album El Alimento from 2021 Cimafunk collaborated with well-known names such as George Clinton, Lupe Fiasco and CeeLo Green. His latest album, Pa' Tu Cuerpa, was released last year.  

Singer and multi-instrumentalist Cory Henry excels on the Hammond B3 organ. He found his kindred spirits in Snarky Puppy, but in 2018 he left the collective to transform venues around the world into sold-out, grooving funk temples with his own band, the Funk Apostles. Henry’s latest album, 2024’s Church, earned him his first solo Grammy Award, for Best Roots Gospel Album.

Last year, Cuban jazz pianist and composer Gonzalo Rubalcaba joined forces with Brazilian bandolimist Hamilton de Holanda. The result of the collaboration between these two Latin masters was the album Collab, which was instantly nominated for a Grammy Award. On stage, they will be joined by two Brazilian special guests, singer-songwriter Ivan Lins and harmonicist Gabriel Grossi.

British singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Jacob Collier is recognized as one of the most gifted young artists of modern times. In 2013, his videos on YouTube went viral. Earning his first two Grammy’s with songs from his debut album In My Room, he then started work on Djesse, a four-volume, 50-song album. Its last installment, Djesse Vol. 4, was released in 2024.

An entertainment industry mogul, Snoop Dogg has reigned for nearly three decades, since his debut album, 1993’s Doggystyle, entered the Billboard 200 at number 1 and spawned several top 10 singles. He is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, DJ, media personality, businessman and icon. Beyond Snoop’s business ventures, he has been active in philanthropy work through numerous organizations.

Amsterdam musician QUIQUE mostly listened to hip hop in his younger years, but discovered reggaeton and traditional styles such as salsa and Cumbia and now incorporates them in his music. QUIQUE performed at prestigious Dutch festivals such as NN North Sea Jazz, Lowlands and Down the Rabbit Hole and did successful club tours. Last year saw the release of his debut album, El Colombolandés.