After two decades shaping some of the UK’s most recognisable live music environments, Kim O’Brien is evolving her work within the live music sector, expanding beyond large-scale festival systems into a new international hosted experience focused on intimate, music-led cultural connection.
The move represents a natural extension of O’Brien’s work within festival and venue environments, applying her experience to a more intimate, hosted format centred on music, place and human-scale cultural connection.
O’Brien has spent her career designing and delivering large-scale live music environments and audience experiences, including senior operational roles across major UK festival and venue brands such as Warehouse Project and Parklife. She currently works as a Festival & Venue Consultant, advising on live experience design and cultural programming.
‘Til Sunrise Barbados is announced today, Friday 15 May 2026, marking the official unveiling of this new international direction.
The first hosted experience will take place in November 2026, bringing small groups of 8–12 guests to Barbados for a curated music-led programme that blends live performance, movement, food and shared cultural experience.
At its core, the experience is built around a return to intimacy in music-led environments, where music is experienced as part of place, community and daily life rather than large-scale production.
Programming is structured around curated live performances, intimate sessions with local Bajan artists, and collaborative cultural moments designed to create direct exchange between visiting guests and the island’s creative community.
The first edition will be hosted at Surfers Bay on Barbados’ south coast, with future editions developing organically across the island through collaborations with venues and cultural partners, guided by the music and the experience itself.
Signature ‘Til Sunrise Sessions form the centrepiece of the experience, offering informal intimate live music moments designed to break down the distance between artist, audience and environment.
The weekly programme includes:
● Curated music-led evenings and ‘Til Sunrise Sessions
● Morning movement sessions by the sea with local coaches
● East coast sunrise hikes with local guides
● Cultural experiences including Oistins Fish Fry and local music venues
● Surfing, shared dining and island-wide social experiences
Speaking about the launch, Kim O’Brien said:
“I’ve spent my career inside large-scale music environments, thinking about scale, flow and audience experience. Over time, I became more interested in something smaller, where music is not separated from place or people, but embedded in it.”
She added:
“Barbados already has that relationship between music, community and daily life. This project is about working within that, not overlaying it, and exploring what happens when you strip live experience back to something more human.”
‘Til Sunrise Barbados’ is designed as the foundation for a wider international music-led hosted experience centred on cultural programming, audience connection and long-term collaboration with local creative and hospitality communities.
Future editions and venue partnerships across Barbados are expected to follow the inaugural experience in November 2026.
Bookings for November 2026 are now available online at:
www.tilsunrisebarbados.com
