Brass 2 the World celebrates

SOCA band Brass 2 the World will celebrate its fourth anniversary with a live-streamed show hosted by music producer and WACK radio station owner Kenny Phillips. Sunday’s show, Titled Up Close… and Personal, is also the band’s way of saying thanks to its local and foreign-based fans and followers.

Led by Burt Marcellin and music director Terrence Sealey, the 12-piece soca band, with its trademark horn section, is fine-tuning its set for the virtual show. Frontline singers Sanell Dempster and Heaven “Snakey” Charles’s repertoire will feature calypso, reggae, dancehall, Latin and soca.

Since launching in July 2016, Brass 2 the World has been a force and earned the National Carnival Commission’s (NCC) Best Playing Brass Band title for Carnival 2017. The band played road music for champion mas band K2K Alliance and Partners.

Brass 2 the World has also played in the major all-inclusive fetes, including Soka in Moka, Bishop’s and Yorke’s fetes, among others. Its overseas performances include Montreal, and in Boston where it won kudos for its contribution to that city’s carnival celebrations and received letters of citation from Boston’s mayor, said a media release.

In its third year the band moved into mas production, and Marcellin together with a team from the band conceptualised a Carnival Monday presentation in tribute to his late father, legendary musician Mano Marcellin. For the past two years, Blow Mano, Blow mas has emerged as a fun alternative for many masqueraders, some of whom travel from the US and the Caribbean for the experience, the release said. The band said its efforts have helped to bring live music back on the road on Carnival Monday and Tuesday —a spectacle that had all but disappeared from previous years.

This year, the second year of the NCC’s Brass Bacchanal, Brass 2 the World placed second in the competition.

Sunday’s anniversary celebrations will also highlight original member and saxophonist Michelle Marfan-Urquhart, credited for the energising arrangement of Grenada’s Skinny Banton’s popular hit Wrong Again which the band played in the competition.

The band has also released new music over the years including Jammin’ Brass on D Road, Making Love and Trinbago Is a Real Place.

As a consequence of the new normal of operating in the covid19 pandemic era and with specific requirements for physical distancing, Brass 2 the World has also suffered loss of earnings due to a slew of cancelled gigs. Much-anticipated bookings for festivals in Toronto, Montreal, New York, Boston and Grenada were put on hold, the band said. On the brighter side, however, it said the virtual anniversary showcase is a bid to stay connected with loyal fans and followers.

The event begins at 6 pm and can be viewed on WACK 90.1fm’s YouTube and Facebook page.