Calypso needs to get its act together! Minister Nyan Gadsby-Dolly did not think very much of TUCO’s handling of calypso in 2020 and she pulled no punches in letting the world know. Her unflattering comments on TV6 revealed disapproval of the decision to keep Kaisorama and the art form’s Carnival …
Read More »Who feels it, knows it! St Bernard’s pick for calypso crown and how local music can raise foreign exchange
I’m backing Joanne “Tigress” Rowley for Calypso Monarch 2019. Her story is real. Her music is good. And, yes, I had a ring side seat to her deciding on the song, Who Feels It, Knows It. Her rendition deals with depression and a mental health issue she dealt with after …
Read More »Helon was Rudder-like! St Bernard sees positive calypso change coming from the new generation
The return of the Kings and Queens to Sunday’s Dimanche Gras made for a good show. Calypso won as, although there were too many props, there was no excess of lame melodies, thank God, and no overdose of prosaic lyrics. It was refreshing to hear music back in our calypso; …
Read More »Heigh-ho, De Silva, away! Best sees NCC boss chairmanning still, despite quit promise
Five months, four weeks, three days, two hours, one minute, one second, two ticks and one tock. As I begin to write, that’s how long it has been since the last note sounded on Carnival 2017. And at the NCC, Kenny De Silva is still chairmanning. Now let me say …
Read More »Are reports of Carnival’s demise exaggerated? Stakeholders await govt post-mortem
Forty days and 40 nights. And counting… NCC has had its say. Communications is largely silent. Tourism has been silenced. Community Development, Culture and the Arts has had nothing to say. But the volume of kangkatang in this year’s Carnival, it seems to me, makes a proper post-mortem imperative. And …
Read More »Letter to the Editor: Saving calypso from itself; a kaiso lover takes dead aim at TUCO
“If calypso is to be saved and the best interests of calypsonians protected, TUCO needs to get out of the tent business and return to its original mandate of looking after the interests of all calypso and soca performers, including the establishment of the much needed pension plan. “To save …
Read More »Dimanche not so gras! Best casts critical eye; says why he preferred Karene to Chalkie
Not to take anything away from the 2017 winner, Dr Hollis “Chalkdust” Liverpool, the now record nine-time champion, the results of last night’s Calypso Monarch competition simply do not add up. And as the dissatisfaction with the organisers and complaints about the quality of the show multiply—as they are almost …
Read More »Hunt on for mysterious calypso financier
Calypso Monarch Duane O’ Connor received $500,000 from TUCO this weekend, which brought his total cash prize up to $1 million for his winning renditions of “The hunt is on” and “Long live calypso.” There is still no word as to the identity of the mysterious donor(s) of half a …
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