I have a lot of thoughts about Adidja Palmer’s influence on the Caribbean. His charisma, musical legacy and the mess surrounding his failed concert in Trinidad. But writing about Vybz Kartel has been personally rewarding. I received a Caribbean Broadcast Union Award for Excellence in Caribbean Art and Culture Reporting for my report on his…
Après Carnival-la and we are here in T&T reminiscing on what we’ve just experienced. This was a different season for me, a returning to centre because I was never a big masquerader. All I did this year on Monday and Tuesday was J’Ouvert with 3Canal which was special. My first was their last as the…
Robert Young’s band Vulgar Fraction’s presentation for 2017 is called the Caribbean Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. The models were people Robert selected from the crowd. He dressed them and they began twirling. The band has a loose structure, but I was surprised by how I was warming to it. The costumes,…
Dr. McCartha Linda Sandy-Lewis is back in Trinidad, having arrived safely from Paris. Victoire de Music, we’ve been referring to it as the French Grammy. Her manager says she’s still breaking ground. She is the first Caribbean person to win a Victoire, and to receive a standing ovation at the ceremony for her performance Save…
Originally published in the Trinidad Guardian in January 2021 under the title ‘Leave me let me wine” this article and video that explored the history of our wine, so the conference mentioned took place in 2021. The Caribbean wine is a thing of wonder, and sometimes derision. We have a love/hate relationship with the movement….
On Thursday (27th March) UWI’s Literary Cultural and Communications Studies department presented ‘From Steam to Soca,’ the latest in a series of talks on issues that matter to the culture of Trinidad and Tobago. Hosts, and PhD candidates within the department, Abeo Jackson and Omari Ashby interviewed Lady Lava and Squeezy Rankin. Let me first…
