Queens of Soca to hold court

YESS Productions will host Queens of Soca featuring Patrice Roberts, Terri Lyons, Destra Garcia, Lil Bitts, Nailah Blackman and Nessa Preppy.

Queens of Soca premieres on Wednesday at Sundar Popo Auditorium, Southern Academy for the Performing Arts (SAPA), San Fernando, at 7.30 pm. On Thursday, the show goes to the Lord Kitchener Auditorium, National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), Port-of-Spain, from 7.30 pm.

Soca "kings" Farmer Nappy, SuperBlue, Ricardo Drue and David Rudder will provide additional entertainment.

National Calypso Monarch Terri Lyons, the daughter of living soca icon, SuperBlue, will bring her creativity and energy to the events. Lyons, who is also the regional Caribbean Calypso Queen of Queens, is a stellar performer and composer.

The baby of the cast, Lil Bits is the "pocket rocket of soca," a media release said. Small in physique, her voice and stage presence are powerful.

Nailah Blackman, granddaughter of soca pioneer Ras Shorty I, and daughter of former National Calypso Queen Abbi Blackman, keeps her grandfather's legacy in perpetual motion, the release said. Nailah's songs energise soca audiences and have also attracted love and attention from the steelband fraternity, with her songs being played at the National Panorama competitions and have made it to winners row.

"The Queen of Bacchanal" Destra Garcia is celebrating 20 years of entering the soca kingdom and has taken soca to global audiences over the years. One of soca's most prolific composers, Destra was voted the Copyright Music Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago (COTT) Music Awards Female Songwriter of the Year on six consecutive occasions. She was also voted the Black Canadian Awards Best International Act on three consecutive occasions.

Patrice Roberts stands head and shoulders alongside the best in soca. On the heels of her dynamic entry to the business in 2005, she became the youngest female Road March winner in a collaboration with Machel Montano, on the single, Band of the Year.

A recently acknowledged queen of soca, Nessa Preppy was born in Germany and raised in Arima. In quick time she has asserted herself, having had her debut single Tingo become a hit in 2018. Since then, Nessa continues to validate her right to keep company with the cast of Queens of Soca, the release said.

YESS Productions steered by the cultural activist and event planner – the former owner/manager of Palaver Place, Hazel Simonette, along with her team– is promising to deliver a memorable occasion.