Calypso tents make changes to bring audiences back

Calypso tents have not been without challenges in recent times. Years of discussion around funding, lack of public patronage and criticisms of sameness have plagued the tents.

Tent managers have been working to restructure the product and said there are changes reflecting that this year.

Manager of Kalypso Revue Michael “Sugar Aloes” Osuna said there is a list of young performers on its cast this year. Baron and Trinidad Rio are among the veteran members, while Gillian Moor and Keishea Stewart are among the new additions to the cast.

“We wanted to bring a little difference in the programme this year and not running down the political genre of the thing,” he said.

Sugar Aloes said the tent also intended to stick strictly to its 8 pm start time to “give patrons ample time to reach home safe.”

The price stays at $150, he added.

While the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation (TUCO) hoped last year an injection of more humorous/party calypsoes would draw people back to the tents, Sugar Aloes said his cast did not necessarily do up-tempo songs.

Strong lyrical content and social commentary blended with a danceable melody are what he plans to offer.

“The younger people I include have that kind of material.”

For Sugar Aloes, sometimes, up-tempo songs were nonsensical and he was not going for that.

“I am trying to introduce younger people, get them in the tent and understand what it is about. We have some beautiful music for the season,” he said.

There are 23 performers in his cast, with half of them being women.

“Women place their foot in that niche and decide, ‘Okay, we want to do something this year,’” he said.

Sugar Aloes said it was a deliberate choice, as: “Some of the guys have nonsense.”

He said one of his artistes had an excellent example of double entendre, something he felt had been missing from tents for a while. The song made people laugh and that was one way of drawing people back to tents, he added.

There was another performer called the Indian Rex West (a tribute to calypsonian Rex West known for his offbeat dancing and vocals).

“He out of timing, but he go make you laugh. That is what you want, a little nostalgia, a little humour in the tent,” he said.

With respect to funding, Sugar Aloes was still hoping. However, he had some savings which he used to “start the thing.”

Kalypso Revue will have a grand opening on January 19 at the Arima Velodrome. The tent will be based at the SWWTU Hall, Wrightson Road, Port of Spain.

“We are the Revue. We have not lost our taste. Right now, it is the oldest running tent…” he said.

The Back to Basics tent –formerly headed by Winston “Gypsy” Peters – will not be open this year.

Gypsy said while he is not managing a tent, he is still a calypsonian and will be a part of Kaiso House at the Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain.

Tents were expensive to run, he said.

“For the two years I did it, I did not make any money, really. A business usually takes two-three years before it starts making any money. Just as I was expecting to get a return on my investment, the covid19 pandemic hit.

“And I am not about to put no $1 million into a calypso tent to start over again.”

Gypsy said his tent was independently run and he received no funding.

A successful tent required performers with good calypsoes and variety, he said.

“A calypso tent cannot be run on only people singing about politics or songs that take them to the Savannah. Where is the entertainment value?”

He said tents were like political parties as many singers sang about the Prime Minister or Opposition Leader. Artistes had to be more creative with the advent of social media, Gypsy said.

While tents can be serious, there needed to be entertainment value for them to be profitable, he said.

“Tents are lacking variety, they are lacking depth of performance. If they correct that, there will be something different.”

This year, Gypsy has a song called Ungrateful (Your Mother Can’t Believe) and said it was about a real person whose mother took a lot of care of the child but the child grew up to be ungrateful to its mother.

TUCO-run tents – Kaiso Showkase, Kaiso Karavan, Klassic Ruso and Kaiso House – have also adjusted their prices and times to be more appealing to audiences. Kaiso House will feature veteran performers like Brother Valentino and Mudada. The reigning national monarch Ta'zyah O'Connor, along with his father, Duane, will also be on its cast as well as former monarch Karene Asche.

At Klassic Ruso, at City Hall, Port of Spain, All Rounder, Contender and Mark Eastman are on the cast.

Kaiso Karavan at La Joya Auditorium, St Joseph, will feature Johnny King, Cardinal and Bally, while Snakey and Victoria "Queen Victoria" Cooper-Rahim will be among cast members at Kaiso Showkase at Palms Club, San Fernando.

TUCO’s marketing manager Devon Seale said the organisation was taking greater care to ensure programming was more entertaining.

Seale, however, was clear to state that this was a process and did not happen immediately.

“Gradually, we are getting there. They have all made an attempt to make their programming more entertaining.”

Each tent has a cast of about 25, but not all 25 would perform nightly, Seale said. The cast will also go out to different institutions and having special nights to generate interest, he added.

There will also be pricing specials like two-for-one to encourage patronage. E-ticketing and surprise guest artistes were also tools being used to draw people to the tents.

“Before, you would have gone to a tent for five hours. That no longer happens, it is no longer sustainable to have a show for five hours,” Seale said.

He said all tent managers were looking at that and now hoping to have shows for approximately two-and-a-half hours. The shows should not go over three hours, he added.

With respect to funding, while the tents could always have more, they make the most of what they have, especially when there are now limited resources.

Seale said the tent hoped to encourage a younger audience through social media.

He said a lot of calypsonians have come forward with material during auditions, and he hoped creative and new material would translate into greater attendance at the tents.

Opening dates for tents:

January 7: Magnificent Glow, Buccoo Beach Resort, Tobago

January 12: Kaiso Showkase, Palms Club, San Fernando

January 12: Icons: To be determined

January 13: Kaiso Karavan, La Joya Auditorium, St Joseph

January 17: Divas Calypso Cabaret International: To be determined

January 17: Klassic Ruso, City Hall, Port of Spain

January 18: Kaiso House, Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain

January 19: Generation Next: To be determined

January 19: Kalypso Revue, SWWTU Hall, Port of Spain