The setting for the annual Holders Season, an open-air music festival in Barbados, is, well, idyllic: an estate overlooking polo fields and the sea and anchored by the 17th-century Holders House. Beginning on March 14 this year, owner Wendy Kidd will transform one corner of Holders House's 5-acre garden into an enchanted glade filled with music and poetry. For two weeks, palm trees are pressed into service as temporary gantries for stage lights; a large gingerbread gazebo becomes the focal point for the stage; and polo ponies are relocated, making way in the stables for changing rooms and a canteen for performers. While flowering vines caress stately mahogany trees and fireflies flitter among the twinkling lights that lace the branches, enjoy a variety of musical experiences accompanied by local jerk specialities and Mount Gay Rum. Standing alongside locals & travelers alike, listen for everything from calypso to cabaret -- all the way to gospel, jazz and opera. You'll travel far before finding a festival as quirky as this celebration of all things musical.

Rate Information

• Tickets from about $15. holders.net