The On Tour Calypso Tent dominated the calypso preliminaries, judging of which took place last week.
The tent secured eight of the 22 spots in the semi-finals, slated for June 28, at Victoria Park.
On Tour had twice the number of picks received by Upstage Xperience Calypso Tent and the New York-based Dynamites Calypso Tent, and had two picks more than the Graduates Calypso Tent.
None of the bards from the Windward Calypso Tent advanced to the semi-finals.
Below, the full list of calypsonians who have made it to the semi-finals follows:
Dynamites Calypso Tent
1. Lornette “Fya Empress” Nedd
2. John “D Truth” Dougan
3. Dennis Bowman
4. Errol “D Man Age” Rose
Graduates Calypso Tent
1. Glenroy “Sulle” Caesar
2. Maxwell “Tajoe” Francis
3. Kingsley “Hero” Roberts
4. Cleopatra “Cleopatra” Hendrickson
5. Glen “Bump-I” Richards
6. Damian “Boney Man” Noel
On Tour Calypso Tent
1. Elvis “Abijah” Abby
2. Kenneth “Vibrating Scakes” Alleyne
3. Robert “Patches” King
4. Wendell “Speshie” Goodrich
5. Grantley “Ipa” Constance
6. Roland “Chico B” Veira
7. Rolmina “Rolie” Matthews
8. Kirk “Ninja” Knights
Upstage
1. Fitzroy “Bro Ebony” Joseph
2. Shaunelle Mc Kenzie
3. Joanna “Nubian Princess” Christopher
4. Shena Collis
Reserves:
1. Earl “Exposer” Isles
2. Denise “Lady D” Stephens
The Carnival Development Corporation invited all of the artistes and a representative of each of the bands, Blazing Fire and Next Level to a meeting at Victoria Park at 5 p.m. on Monday.
Zamfir “Man Zangie” Adams is the reigning Calypso Monarch.
All I got to say is “When yo think ah bush ah people”
WINDWARD CALYPSO.
IT was a bit interesting, to me, that the Windward Calypso Tent did not come to standard in this 2019 Semi-Finals season. (Nostalgia?)
Just a few years ago, the north-eastern “Prophets Calypso Tent” made a massive splash, in G-TOWN and nationally, with the likes of the very precocious “Son-of-Man”/GAO, PRINCE I-CHAL, CRAZY ANGLE, and, if I recall correctly, my colleagues LORD DYNO and D MAN KELLY.
That was when G-A-O came out with his “ENGLAND PEOPLE” – – – , er… i.e., the school-children’s moniker for it, with a that small group of children from my Senior Department classes in Georgetown Government [Primary-cum-Post-Primary] School students dubbed “GAO’s Children”.
My cousin Godwin Augustus Oliver BILLY around that time confidentially told me that he was poking ironic picong at two of his elitist/highly educated relatives who were apparently atheistic or agnostic in their prognostications since their return from England/overseas or from further studies. GAO, a practising Spiritual Baptist/Christian Pilgrim simply couldn’t fathom their level of ignorance in this regard, seeing that evidence of the Creator was abundantly all around us – – – if we only had eyes to see. He intimated that as a farmer, we would simply put seeds into the ground – – – THAT ALONE essentially – – – and that, when you really come to it – – – IT WAS SIMPLY AN ABSOLUTE MIRACLE (!!!) that these seeds would germinate and grow into full plants/trees, and thus provide food for us humans.
So, GAO taunted them …. inter alia ….AL-YUH hah-fuh “COME BACK HERE [to St. Vincent] AND EAT BREADFRUIT LIKE ME AND YOU . . .”
England-people, “COME BACK RIGHT HERE!!!” in SVG!
Boy, was I (swell-nosedly) PROUD of “my” GAO’S CHILDREN’s grandiose, high-toned performance!
Prince I-CHAL, with his BERNARD-GLASGOW composition “DEM CAN’T STOP PROPHECIES FROM FULFILLING ! ” gave a certainly stellar performance.
ALMOND “Plancker” PILGRIM, the Mighty DYNO, delivered a rootsy message with “Oh Mr. FARMER !”
“MAN KELLY” FRASER, had a ‘good’ song that simply proved a bit unwieldy, yea, still somewhat commonplace. He took it to ELWARDO LYNCH, the Calypso King of the 1960s, LORD TEACH, who just gave it a few tweeks – – – and, hurrah, we had an absolutely outstanding calypso at the nationals.
Then, we had our junior kaisoman, since turned “Christophene”, the notable “Mighty COMPLAIN !”
Those were the “days” of top G-TOWN Kaisons – – – subsequent to the earlier musical days of THE ARGONAUTS CLUB and DULCI MELOS band.
WILL THE MUSICIANS AND CALYPSO BARDS OF GEORGETOWN and the WINDWARD kaiso tradition RISE AGAIN?
IS there A SECOND ACT, guys?!