Fighting against bullying is the focus of Zante’s 2020 Children’s Carnival Band. The band, billed as Mas with a Heart, will feature a dramatic presentation titled Inaru’s Gift. The costumes in the band each relate to a story, written by Zante Director Dara Healey. Designer Nia Thompson said the story starts with the Blue Devils … Continue reading
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Jadel on a mission in soca music (February 3, 2020)
2020 is Plenty is soca artiste Jardine “Jadel” Legere’s motto for the 2020 Carnival season. In addition to releasing six songs in the run-up to the season, she has been chosen to take part in both the Power and Groovy categories of the International Soca Monarch Semifinals on February 2. Legere said she has always … Continue reading
Feel the love at Free the Carnival (January 30, 2020)
Family-friendly events during Carnival are often hard to find. This year, popular band Freetown Collective (FTC) will add to the choices available with their event, Free the Carnival, on February 1 at Sound Forge, located at #1 Christopher Samuel Drive, Mucurapo Road. The event will feature performances by Freetown Collective, new calypsonian Jimmy October and … Continue reading
VB’s Carnival Jazz Brunch gets A-plus (January 28, 2020)
Chanteuse Vaughnette Bigford pulled out all the stops for her first ever Carnival Jazz Brunch. The event, held at the Lions Cultural Centre, FitzBlackman Drive, Port of Spain. Billed as VB’s Carnival Jazz Brunch, the event showcased pan, kaiso and jazz as well as local vendors and food. Patrons were greeted at the gate by … Continue reading
Author-inspired traditional mas comes to life… Baby dolls a family effort (January 23, 2020)
Tracey Sankar-Charleau’s Red Thread Cycle – All the Dead, All the Living baby doll mas band is an addition to the mas-woman’s brilliant portfolio of Traditional Mas portrayals. The title of the mini-band is taken from a section in poet Shivanee Ramlochan’s debut collection, Everybody Knows I Am A Haunting (Peepal Tree Press, 2017). The … Continue reading
Trinidad Killa… a positive voice from the ghetto (January 22, 2020)
Local dancehall and soca artiste Kern “Trinidad Killa” Joseph says his mission in the music industry is to give upcoming youth a chance. This follows on his recent success with the songs Gunman in She Hole and Power in Soca (Dyy Zess). Joseph said he has been in the music industry for 17 years, and … Continue reading
Duane, a Monarch of all he surveys (January 15, 2020)
As former National Calypso Monarch Duane O’Connor celebrates a year of running D Monarchs Pub on Ariapita Avenue, he looks forward confidently to the future. While he has had some setbacks during the course of the year, he said this has not deterred him. O’Connor opened the D Monarchs Pub along with his wife because … Continue reading
Richochae and Blackstarr hit the mark (January 7, 2020)
Singer and producer Ricardo “Ricochae/Party Gud” James continues to work hard to achieve his goals to take soca music to an international level. He has released two songs for Carnival 2020, Feeling Ah Feeling, and Take Soca, and he’s working on an international album, I’m Ready. James said his artiste name, Party Gud, is an … Continue reading
Celebrating T&T’s Culture and the Arts (December 10. 2019)
Prolific non-fiction author Nasser Khan recently handed over his new book, Celebrating Trinidad and Tobago’s Culture and the Arts, to the schools and libraries of T&T. The text is intended to be a one-stop shop reference guide to the cultural forms of T&T. At 336 pages, Celebrating Trinidad and Tobago’s Culture and the Arts takes … Continue reading
Ronnie Ollivierre plans big next year (December 2, 2019)
Soca Parang artiste Ronnie “Champion Ronoman” Ollivierre is celebrating over 20 years in the genre. His newest songs Pelau and Handbag have already been released and he is working on a Power Soca for Carnival 2020. Ollivierre was called Rono in school, and when he grew up, the man suffix was added, leading to the … Continue reading