Turks and Caicos never gets old. Last year I shared the sights and sounds from the Turks and Caicos Music and Cultural Festival, which featured a killer performance from Alicia Keys, John Legend and T.I., to name a few. And this year I was not disappointed with the weekend of fun, either.

This time I told myself I could not leave the island without visiting the famed Anacaona restaurant at the Grace Bay Club. The food was amazing, the view and new Infinity Bar are incredible sights, and after the meal I didn’t know if I could get it together to make it to LL Cool J’s show. I had my fill of snapper, the tasting of shrimp, kiwi sorbet and a conch and fruit treat specially made by chef Kevin that was to die for. Many thanks to Mark, Andy and Angella for being so kind … I will definitely be back. But on to the music …

On Friday I had a ball dancing and singing along to LL Cool J’s energy-filled set. He enticed the crowd with those amazing abs, as usual. For a man who has been around in the hip-hop world as long as he has, I am always pleasantly surprised to see him working it out and to get a refresher on just how many hits he has. The crowd really got excited when he performed his new song “Baby,” which features The-Dream. And he pulled up way too many women from the audience to dance to “Doin’ It” — there were far too many young girls up there in my opinion.

Saturday I was hoping Rihanna (who actually was on my flight from JFK to Provo) would surprise the crowd during Ne-Yo’s performance, but that didn’t happen. Ne-Yo kept asking his young fans to repeat the release date of his new album (9/16), and that got a little old. He performed “Closer,” “Make Me Better,” “Sexy Love” and the rest of his new joints. I think Anita Baker was my favorite that night. The soul singer is in perfect voice, and I can sing along to “Body and Soul” and “I Apologize” every night.

Sunday, make no mistake about it, most of the island was at the festival to see Lionel Richie. He moved the crowd with “Ballerina Girl” “All Night Long” and a bunch of other songs and even joked that he can’t believe he made it through raising Nicole (his famous “Simple Life” daughter). But, I was there to see T-Pain. I love his catchy tunes.

T-Pain had obviously been drinking before he took the stage. He walked onto the stage with a glass of something orange in his hand. I was a little worried about what kind of show I would be getting. T-Pain is still on his “ringmaster of hip-hop” thing (remember the BET Awards with the whole circus getup?) and was joined by two dancer/ hype men with face-paint. (Both guys, I found out, were in the Krump-dancing flick “Rize” and told me they are his clowns minus the clown suits.)

I found out how much T-Pain had to drink when he jumped up and down during “Good Life” and slipped and fell on his behind. It was a sight to see. He even made light of the situation, asking his DJ if he really just fell and that he could feel the pain a few minutes later. He performed his part on “Bust It Baby,” “Got Money” and lots of other hip-hop tracks, in addition to previewing a few new tunes. He did a bit too much talking for me in between songs, though. I would have preferred to just hear the music. That’s the type of T-Pain show I am used to seeing.

Overall, the Turks and Caicos Music Festival did not have as much energy as last year’s gathering, but leave it to the heavyweights like LL Cool J and Anita to save the day. Of course, I will be there “with bells on” next year. Let’s hope it feels a little more like last year’s festival, though.

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