Nanaimo's Vancouver Island Conference Centre may soon stage its first concert, with plans to finalize an all-ages show featuring a Grammy Award-winning artist well underway.

T-Pain, an American singersongwriter-producer who won a Grammy for best rap song with Kanye West in 2008, is slated to play at the convention centre on March 30.

It will be the first all-ages concert for Nanaimo promotor Jerry Hong, who also owns downtown bars The Queen's Hotel and Spice Lounge.

Singer T-Pain is expected to perform at the VICC in Nanaimo on March 30.

In 2009, Hong had international rap star Flo Rida scheduled to play at the Beban Park auditorium but issues among the rap star's management led to the cancellation of all B.C. stops at the last minute.

Hong had earlier tried to book Flo Rida at the VICC but was turned down, reportedly because the show did not meet the centre's mandate.

Hong is meeting with VICC officials to finalize details for the T-Pain show, which will be an exclusive Vancouver Island stop.

Hong hosted a successful hypnotist show at the VICC last year but this will be the first all-ages concert of its kind at the convention centre, where about 800 people could attend.

"The big concern they had was people damaging the building.

We've come up with measures to prevent that," said Hong."We're definitely hoping [to hold] future events there. The space is perfect."

T-Pain's management understands this would be the first show of its kind at the convention centre and they are "very ecstatic" to be a part of it, Hong said.