The Kes the Band frontman checks in with Billboard at the 2026 Saint Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival. Get all the details. Kes the Band, Teddyson John and Terri Lyons perform at NPR Tiny Desk on Friday, May 8, 2026. Jono Hirst/NPR Music Trending on Billboard There were still two more days of this year’s Saint Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival following Kes the Band’s terrific Friday night headlining set (May 8) — and the soca group cleared all the competition. Fronted by Kees Dieffenthaller, who also goes by Kes, the band delivered an hour of high-energy renditions of contemporary soca bangers like “Wotless,” “Savannah Grass” and “Cocoa Tea.” The festival stop is just the latest in a string of hectic periods for the band — including a pair of Jazz @ Lincoln Center shows in January and the forthcoming North American leg of its Roots, Rock, Soca Tour. “[Saint Lucia] Jazz always has such a mixed bag of performers that blows me away,” Kes tells Billboard after soundcheck.…