The 2016 edition of the Crop Over Festival in Barbados takes place this weekend with Grand Kadooment (Parade of the Bands) scheduled for Monday. Vincey Mas (St Vincent & The Grenadines) is also being held this weekend with Spice Mas (Grenada) taking place on August 8-9. Antigua Carnival, with J’Ouvert and Parade of the Bands being held next Monday and Tuesday, is also on the agenda for Caribbean Carnival, all of which being influenced by T&T Carnival.
T&T calypsonians continue to be headline acts at regional carnivals. Last Tuesday, local artistes who were billed to perform with King Short Shirt, Swallow and King Obstinate at Antigua/Barbuda’s big Calypso Classic production were Gypsy, Sugar Aloes, Baron and Singing Francine.
The following night the quartet will also headline a similar production in Nevis. The local soca artistes have also been performing at popular events through the region and the younger exponents, no doubt inspired by Machel Montano, SuperBlue, Iwer George, Destra, Kes, Bunji Garlin and Fay-Ann Lyons, include Voice, Olatunji and Blaxx. In fact, this trio are headline acts for the August 6 Pure White happening at the Moonlight City venue in St Andrews, Grenada.
T&T soca has also influenced the Crop Over Festival with a slew of excellent soca artistes coming out of the Land of the Flying Fish. Some of the world’s best known Bajan soca artistes are Alison Hinds, Edwin Yearwood, Rupee, Lil Rick, Peter Ram, Biggie Irie and Blood Armstrong. Paving the way for them have been Barbadian calypsonians like Gabby, Grynner, Ras Iley, Johnny Ma Boy, TC, Poonka, the Merrymen and Spice.
Like T&T, Barbados also has its fair share of reputable calypso tents, including Battleground and Bacchanal Time, and over the years many a local bard has entertained a guest performer, including Bill Trotman, SuperBlue, Explainer and Rootsman. The country also produced a few entertaining humorous calypso acts like MADD, Trevor Eastman and the late Carew.
The region has produced many good calypsonians, all adopting the Trini model of composing and performing. Some of the standouts through the years have been Arrow (Montserrat); King Shortshirt, Swallow and King Obstinate (Antigua); Ajamu and Talpree (Grenada); Winston Soso and Scorcher (St Vincent); and, Canary (Guyana). Our neighbouring Caribbean calypsonians became so proficient in the art form that Shortshirt forced a change in the rules of T&T Road March competition in 1976 when his Tourist Leggo was on course to capture this country’s Road March title.
Kitchener’s Flag Woman was crowned that year’s Road March as the new rule prohibited any foreign calypsonian from winning this national title. Many regional calypsonians performed at calypso tents in Trinidad at Carnival time.
Mass influence on regional mas
In the realm of mas, T&T has always had a profound and indelible impact on Barbados’ Grand Kadooment, the parade of masquerade bands religiously held on the first Monday in August annually. Following in Lee Heung’s wake have been veteran designers and bandleaders like Senior Gomez and Berlin Mendoza.
The 80s and 90s saw the reign of Bajan mas bands led by the likes of Gwyneth Squires, Fr Harcourt Blackett, Marcia Chandler, Winston Jordan and Betty West. As Harts does each year at the Queen’s Park Savannah on Carnival Tuesday, Blue Box Cart is traditionally the first band to parade at the National Stadium on Grand Kadooment day.
TriniJungleJuice is big news in Barbados on Foreday morning with its Crank Jump Up event.
One of the island’s most popular bands, similar to our own Tribe amongst young people, Power X 4, teamed up with “Big Mike” Antoine to produce at the time the largest ever mas band to be seen in Barbados. In 2005, Trinidadian masquerader Joanna Loreille, from the band Legends (Legacy), became the first non-Bajan to compete in that island’s Queen of Carnival competition. She portrayed Freedom, from Cable & Wireless’ presentation of Evolution.
Other Trinidadians who have made a great impact on mas and Kadooment are David Blanc and designer Keith Maclean, two of the main players behind Baje International (BI), one of Barbados’ most successful mas bands, currently in its 19th year of involvement in Kadooment.
Blanc said: “The experience has been great and we are still going strong. The shelf life of BI has been consistent in terms of getting the young demographic participation. BI has been working the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc and BTMI has been doing a lot of work in Trinidad and the Caribbean diaspora to get that consistent and continued participation during Crop Over.
This year our band is Neo and it will depict basically the edginess of today’s generation, like bright lights and the fast paced technology of the youth.
“Baje International also teamed up with Paul Charles and Beach House these last two years to host the Beach House party in Barbados and that too has been successful. Unfortunately, we are not hosting this event this year. In terms of producing mas through the years BI has also collaborated with the likes of Tribe, Island People, Anya Ayoung-Chee and most recently Machel Montano.”
Last year, BI officially teamed up with Machel Montano’s Epic Mas Band for its 2015 band FLY (First Love Yourself). The outfit collaborated with Montano, Epic Mas Band, and designer Janelle ‘J Angelique’ Forde to produce the section Flying Stars. Blanc said: “The experience on the road was amazing and starred Machel, Skinny Fabulous and Angela Hunt along side our Bajan soca stars. This year Janelle continues to design for Baje and it is important to note that even though she is a Bajan, we discovered her talent through Machel Montano and his Epic mas band.”
He added: “Today, Baje is blessed to attract masqueraders from Europe, USA, Canada and all over the Caribbean. Our brand has reached the corners of the globe and we can say that we have been wonderfully blessed for this opportunity thanks in a huge way to our Trini brothers and sisters, Many thanks, and we look forward to keeping the Trini / Baje flag flying high.”
Beach House’s Paul Charles, regretting his organisation not being in this year’s Crop Over mix, said that Beach House has only been involved in Barbados, and not up the islands. He added: “In the all-inclusive category of carnival entertainment, the regional markets are quite small when compared to Trinidad’s.
While in Trinidad we would attract roughly 3,000-plus patrons, in Barbados and the smaller islands we’d get less than a thousand people. To cover the costs of these events one must acquire significant amount of sponsorship. Sponsors in Barbados have been helpful but the amount that we need to offset the cost of holding an all-inclusive, without passing that cost unto the patron, is simply not available.”
Charles continued: “Secondly, Barbados carnival is very concentrated within a very short period of time so therefore you have significant pressure being placed on a very small set of resources, in terms of sound systems, lighting, staffing and other technical aspects. All of that been said, Barbados is a very well organised destination. For example, in terms of punctuality they are second to none. Our suppliers in Barbados have been excellent to work with in every aspect of holding an all-inclusive event. Our plan is to try to create a new formula for the future.”
Barbados is stricter than T&T when it comes to the protection of costumed revellers and mas on the road. Marshalls on the parade route expertly manoeuvre from the main judging point at the National Stadium to its culmination on Spring Garden Highway. It is an offence for people not registered in a costume band to intrude into registered mas bands. This offence carries a fine of BDS$15,000, or imprisonment or both.
T&T...the Godfather of Carnival
T&T calypso, mas and band have influenced carnival events throughout the region. In the steelband world, with assistance by tuners, arrangers and sometimes players, some of the steelbands in the region could match any from the land of the steelband. Even Barbados tried to stage a Panorama competition many years ago, titled Pang-a-Lang. In Antigua Barbuda, Halcyon, Ebonites, Gemonites and Harmonites are among the premier steel orchestras.
In the 80s, Swallow sang a gem of a calypso aptly titled Trinidad, the Caribbean Godfather, recognising T&T are the prime financial cash cow, and economic foundation, of the region. This also true of T&T Carnival and its myriad components, including of calypso, soca, mas and pan.
