Mister Peters celebrates 70th birthday

Wilfred Peters

Big names in the international music industry are in town this week to celebrate Music Week but also to honor our own Mister Peters. He needs little introduction since he is a household name, well-loved and respected for his bruk dong music. This Sunday at the Bliss Centre, a concert is being held with an impressive line-up with the likes of Costa Rica’s Manuel Obregon, Aaron Rose Willson from Panama, Emilio Alvarez from Nicaragua and Drew Gonsalves from Trinidad to honor Mister Peters. News Five’s Delahnie Bain got a sense of how Peters is spending his special day.

Delahnie Bain, Reporting

He is known to all as the Bruk Dung icon but today, the legendary Wilfred Peters is also in the spotlight because it’s his seventy-ninth birthday. We asked Mister Peters how he is celebrating the special day.

Wilfred Peters, Celebrating 79^th Birthday

“I don’t know exactly but dehn thing so funny sometimes yoh know. We usually have wah lee birthday and so but I noh know weh di old lady wah do yet. Ih di smile right deh, maybe ih fix up something, cook up some barbecue and so; something good to eat fi dah day. Well, every day we eat good and so but something lee stranger because I neva had drink problem but I noh drink much again. I wah tek wah two.”

While he is well enough to enjoy the birthday festivities today, Peters was hospitalized in January for an abscess and more recently for high blood sugar and asthma.

Wilfred Peters

“I feel good now, I fell plenty better because I wouldn’t have been here now. But I’m glad you know. Everybody pray fi Mister Peters yoh know and the prayers answered – Mr. Peters is out again. Gial I’m so proud. I’m so proud because dehn got me way to Mahogany Heights because everybody worry. Inna hospital I’m in my bed and every day, every night people come dat I don’t even know from churches and thing.”

And as soon as he returned home, the bruk dung king was back on his accordion because he says he can’t give up the music. That was evident in his performance on this morning’s Open Your Eyes.

[Clip from Mr. Peters and Drew Gonsalves performance…]

Wilfred Peters

“Well, yoh si yoh can’t lef dat because dat yoh living. Dat dah mi life, dah dat I start pan. Yoh go other else things but dat, I can’t give dat up unless mi hand dehn can’t move. As long as dehn could do so ih alright. I born into it. Mi ma house, mi father, mother, brother, sister, everybody play it; the accordion, play guitar. I was the youngest and now ih look like none mi wah lef cause I dah di last one but di old man look like ih noh want me yet. Ih you stay a little bit more.”

wilfred peters

While he and Drew Gonsalves were the musicians in the house, the show’s hosts and other guests joined in to sing happy birthday to Peters. Delahnie Bain for News Five.

[Open Your Eyes hosts and guests singing Happy Birthday…]

You can see the Bruk Dong Legendary Concert this Sunday night, right here on this station at seven o’clock. And the Bliss Centre will be providing free tickets to the first one hundred persons who arrive for the concert. The Bliss late this evening also announced that tickets will now be sold for ten dollars – you heard right, ten dollars for the spectacular show.