In spite of the uneven audio quality of the webcast , I enjoyed the Big 5 concert immensely.
The bands all displayed the highest quality of steelband excellence , and it must have been a joy to be present for the live performance.

However , in spite of my enjoyment , I couldn't help having thoughts that appear contradictory , and may be controversial.
But they reflect my feeling about pan music in general today.

Like I said , I enjoyed the Big 5 concert , but I was thinking that the music was targeting the wrong audience .
It was targeted to old people like me.
But we , unfortunately , are not the main consumers of music today.

 Young people are.

Steelbands still favor classical music , vintage ballads from yesteryear and show tunes , etc.
These genres , even jazz to a certain extent,  have little attraction to popular music fans of today , since they have limited appeal to modern youth.

When Bob Marley made his breakthrough , Chris Blackwell of Island records took the raw reggae cuts , polished them , added rock elements -rock style guitar etc. , and deliberately targeted a young , rock and roll audience.
In other words , Marley's success didn't happen "just so".
The band was packaged , advertised , and sold to a targeted audience.

Steelbands have to figure out a way of making the music of both local and popular genres, more contemporary, so as to appeal to the youthful masses.

"We jamming still" should be a template to local composers of pan music as to how to compose and present contemporary music that sounds great on pan , but can appeal to the consumers of music , which are the youth.

And steelbands should be more actively trying to find, arrange and play modern , contemporary popular tunes of any genre that can be mastered by the steelband , so as to appeal of the youth of today , with whom the future of the art-form lies.
 

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  • We also have to work on developing the youths and give them a platform to showcase their talents for global consumption…

    Renaissance Steel Orchestra 'SLAVE' Winning SanFest at Skinner's Park Fri 7th Nov 2014

    Please note that Dr. Slinger "The Mighty Sparrow" Fransisco, his daughter (on his right side), and the representative of NGC (on his left) were all in tears at the end of this particular selection.

  • This ia good point your raise Glenroy. My take on it is when shows like this come around, and too a certain extent it is beginning to happen, there should be more of other musicians and musical instruments. There should be singers of pop, rap, reggae, and other genres of music. Every song should have an added variant of musicians and musical instruments. Its was there in the concert but it just need to be more of it. More concerts like the Big 5 and more attempts at including other musicians and genres of music closer to what young people buy and listen. Your point is well accepted by me.

    • I agree with the last speaker of the modern steel band. I am sorry that the Trinidad public have not heard when Tripoli was on tour(fifty years ago)We had four members singing the latest Michael songs and other well know popular singers. Hugh Borde smaller group has his daughter singing popular music. When I arrive in Australia, I had was to learn singing to maintain a working group. off course I did not have a large steel band so I added keyboards and bass guitar. I grow by added horns to my band. Today with the Groove warehouse steel band I am now the singer of the band

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