QUEEN’S PARK was alive with the sound of music last Saturday evening when the Scotiabank Fuh De People free concert series began.
The youthful members of the 1688 Orchestra played like masters in showcasing some of the best Barbadian and Caribbean classics and it was all greatly enjoyed by the mixed crowd of devoted music lovers and curious passers-by.
Some of the highlights of the evening were the performances by former Scotiabank Junior Calypso Monarch Aisha Mandisa Butcher and 2015 contestant Jamal Slocombe. Mandisa started with her winning 2012 tune – My Advice – before being joined on stage by Slocombe. The duo gave a beautiful rendition of the 1992 Caribbean Song Contest-winning ballad, Alison Hinds and John King’s ever-popular Hold You In A Song.
Fittingly for the Independence weekend, Barbados’ indigenous sound, spouge, featured heavily with Slocombe doing a mini Jackie Opel retrospective which included Cry Me A River and You’re No Good.
The orchestra was joined by a true local master with a guest performance from calypsonian Adonijah, who sang Blues, the song which took him to the Pic O De Crop finals this year. The song was arranged by 1688’s artistic director Dr Stefan Walcott and featured instrumentation from the orchestra.
The tour continues on Sunday evening with another free show at the Bay Street Esplanade. It concludes on Tuesday at the Frank Collymore Hall with a lunchtime concert which will merge both the Scotiabank Fuh De Children and Fuh De People tours by featuring an all-star band of secondary school musicians performing alongside the 1688 Orchestra. (PR)
