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TR Shine’s Trip To Jazzfest May Be Cancelled Because He Was Rejected For Visa
posted (April 12, 2016)
Well-known Belizean artist Ivan "TR Shine" should be in the last phases of preparation for the biggest gig of his life: the New Orleans Jazzfest one week from now. After all, the headliners for that event include: Snoop Dogg, Flo-Rida, Lauryn Hill, Pearl Jam, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Stevie Wonder.

But the 2 time National Song Competition Champion might very well be missing one the greatest opportunities of his career. That's because his visa application was rejected by the US Embassy for a drug charge seven years ago. Now with only 10 days left for the start of the jazz festival TR Shine is appealing to the Government of Belize to somehow intervene.

Ivan "TR Shine" Burgess, Belizean artist
"Basically the whole issue arise of a single charge that I had year ago upon applying for an American visa, a P3 Visa, which is an artist working Visa and I was denied the Visa. But the real reason for the interview would be that we are pleading for some format of diplomatic something from our government in order to have us attain this P3 Visa in order to go and work in the New Orleans Jazz Festival, which we have been selected to go and represent our country."

Kendoyl Sampson, Band Leader
"We've been working on a show for this event from the 15th of November of last year. We have worked tirelessly. As TR said majority of the band has already been selected and granted a P3 Visa and at this time it wouldn't make sense for us to really have a replacement. Because of the amount of material we have to present. I think one of the shows is about 60 minutes, the other one is 65 minutes. So to prepare something else from scratch would definitely not work for us at this time. So the best thing for us to do is just apply for a diplomatic note and see where the government can help us."

Ivan "TR Shine" Burgess, Belizean artist
"The past doesn't define the person that I am today. You know, wrong place at the wrong time - things like that happened and I would say that things like these do happen in life, so you just got to take it how it comes, but doesn't mean that you don't have another opportunity ahead of you and can't be denied."

TR says he was wrongfully convicted for a quarter pound of weed in 2009.

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