The Republic Bank Pan Lime, boasting 16 performers playing a variety of musical genres for more than seven hours, was a steel pan music lover’s dream come true.
Held on Friday evening at the lush National Botanical Gardens in Waterford, St Michael, it was one “pan-tastic” event and a showcase of skills from primary and secondary school students, newly formed groups and seasoned adults from churches to community groups.
The scheduled 4 p.m. start meant the sun was out in all its glory, heating the atmosphere, allowing some of the early performers to play before a smaller crowd.
It did not mean the performances were less enthusiastic from St Bartholomew’s Primary, the two St Martin’s-Mangrove Primary School pupils who played What A Wonderful World,
Hillaby Turner’s Hall Primary, and Coleridge & Parry School, which augments its band with other musical instruments to make it more fulsome, and St Leonard’s Church Steel Praise Orchestra.
Extra touch
As the sun started to dip in the sky and the afternoon turned to evening and then night, more people headed to the venue to take in the show that was delightful in every way.
The coloured ambient lighting around the mango trees added a little extra touch to the event. The placement of the large screen behind the engineer’s tent offered a prime viewing spot to those who preferred to be away from the crowd.
And as the crowd started to build, there were more people present to witness performances from Combermere School And Alleyne School Combined Orchestra, Harrison College Steel Orchestra, The Church Of The Nazarene Steel Band, St George Secondary School Lionesses, Notes Of Praise, Reddy Panners, The Lodge School, Springer Memorial School, St Augustine’s Church’s Hearts Aflame,
St Leonard’s Boys’ Secondary School and Christ Church Foundation School. Each act was good although some exhibited more confidence in their playing than others.
Popular old and new soca and calypso from Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, gospel, praise and worship songs, pop, reggae and dance hall tunes were the order of the show hosted by young MCs Devari Springer-Lewis and Antwone Holder.
Showmanship
The list was extensive as most of them played for 30 minutes and some played the same songs. No matter how many times the musicians played BruceLee Almightee’s Tomorrow, Red Plastic Bag’s Boat Ride and Something’s Happening, Mighty Gabby’s Dr Cassandra, Lord Kitchener’s Pan In A Minor, Leadpipe’s Tek Charge, Leadpipe And Saddis’ Brain Freeze, Mr Blood and Mikey’s Heart Of The Party, Kes’ Cocoa Tea, Yung Bredda’s Greatest Bend Over, a krosfyah or Square One hit, one of Edwin Yearwood and Mikey’s tunes or Darkers by Jordan English, the people moved each time they heard it.
One of the highlights of the show was St Leonard’s De Boys Steel Band, which was outstanding. They brought passion, energy and showmanship from their entry to their hype guy, the flag man, to donning their darkers (sunglasses) before playing the song of the same name.
The set was eclectic and they mixed the soca vibes smoothly with some throwbacks to 90s R& B that had the audience buzzing.
Noteworthy performances also came from Combermere School And Alleyne School Combined Orchestra, The Lodge School, Springer Memorial School, Notes Of Praise, The Church Of The Nazarene Steel Band, who was joined by Pastor John Yarde to perform two of his popular songs,
Count Your Blessings and Friends And Family,
and St Augustine’s Church’s Hearts Aflame, who worked the stage with their blazing and riveting performance that included David Rudder’s High Mas, Red Plastic Bag’s I’m Alive and Leadpipe And Saddis Blaze It Up and Ah Feeling Ah Feeling.
The 60-member award-winning steel orchestra from Christ Church Foundation School brought the curtain down after an eclectic and electrifying set and that made them worth the wait.
Watching them perform was exciting as the music seemed to flow through them and exit into the hands as they made magic. It was another fantastic performance from beginning to end and, as is customary, they dazzled with their musicality and their showmanship.
The free, family-friendly Pan Lime, which kicked off the National
Cultural Foundation’s pan weekend, was a showcase of the agency’s Steel Pan In Schools initiative.
It was the place to hear budding musicians, the sweet pan arrangements from music teachers and steel pan tutors. It was also an opportunity to pay kudos to individuals such as Ryan Blackman, Mark Forde, Hashim Durant, Judah Goddard, Kently Gill, Andre Forde, Cherise Thorne, Rojenna Holligan, Lowrey Worrell, who has made Christ Church Foundation School Steel Orchestra
into a household name, and others who work with the instrument. (GBM)
