Farmer Nappy wins The Monarch soca crown in no-audience final
Sunday 14 February 2021
Darryl Farmer Nappy Henry sings Backyard Jam to win the 2021 International Soca Monarch competition, rebranded The Monarch, at the National Academy for the Performing Arts, Port of Spain in a pre-recorded final that aired on TV6 on Friday night. -
Darryl “Farmer Nappy” Henry has won the 2021 International Soca Monarch (ISM), rebranded The Monarch, with his popular pandemic hit Backyard Jam.
What was considered an unusual competition setting for this type of event, Farmer Nappy along with ten other competitors performed without an audience at the National Academy for the Performing Arts, Port of Spain, in a pre-recorded final that aired on TV6 on Friday night.
Nadia Batson gives an energetic performance during Skiffle s Tempo In Sando Showcase. - CHEQUANA WHEELER
THE atmosphere inside the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts (SAPA) on February 6 defied the reality that Carnival 2021 celebrations had been cancelled.
All the elements identified with “the greatest show on earth” were on parade. Veterans and youths, representing the steelbands – CAL Skiffle and Skiffle Protégés – horn and rhythm sections, calypso, soca, chutney soca, sailors, gorillas and Indian mas, all characterised the moment.
The blue devils were prevented from making a stage appearance out of concern that their powder would stain the floor. Kaisoca moko jumbies towered at the entrance of the venue to welcome guests for the three-hour-long concert, Tempo in San Fernando.
Farmer Nappy has entered the Bmobile/TUCO People s Choice Road March competition. -
It is usually masqueraders on Carnival Monday and Tuesday whose penchant for a particular song to cross the stage that would have determined the Road March.
But this year, like with all things, it has been pushed online.
Those interested in casting their vote for the online Road March can do so now by texting.
Voting for the Bmobile/ Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation (TUCO) People’s Choice Road March began on February 5 because of an extended registration period. It was originally scheduled to begin on February 1.
People can vote locally and internationally by texting the artiste s code to 7684 and international numbers can text their code to 1-868-798-2661. A media release said voting for the competition is open until 11.59 pm on February 16, with votes being accepted from both Bmobile and Digicel platforms and international mobile numbers.
PREStige all-inclusive goes global
Drupatee
Ramgoonai -
THE much-anticipated all-inclusive fete, PREStige, is going global for 2021 this weekend, but under the Hybrid banner.
On February 7, the Presentation College Past Student Foundation will be partnering with South Is Love (SIL) to livestream the popular south fete from an undisclosed location to various parts of the world.
Prestige chairman Stephen Samlalsingh said instead of postponing the fete due to the cancellation of Carnival, the pandemic has provided a virtual platform for them to go global.
From a few thousands participating in the festivities, he said tens of thousands now have the opportunity to get a taste of what they have been offering for the past ten years.
Trinidadian musician Chantal Esdelle (centre) and her band Moyenne have been reimagining the Carnival space not only via their music, which melds jazz, calypso and steelpan, but also through the ways in which COVID-19 has forced them to innovate. Photo courtesy Esdelle, used with permission. Photographer: Maria Nunes.
It s no surprise that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the cancellation of Trinidad and Tobago s 2021 Carnival celebrations. What
is surprising to some Carnival stakeholders is that the National Carnival Commission (NCC), the state body that oversees the festival, has advised that it will not be hosting any virtual events, despite the fact that other world-famous Carnivals, most notably the one in New Orleans, will be taking the celebrations online come February 15 and 16.