14 compete in Panorama small bands final on January 25

Arima Golden Symphony bass men enjoy their music at the Pan Trinbago small-band semifinals, at Victoria Square, Port of Spain on January 18. - Photo by Angelo Marcelle
Arima Golden Symphony bass men enjoy their music at the Pan Trinbago small-band semifinals, at Victoria Square, Port of Spain on January 18. - Photo by Angelo Marcelle

THE scintillating sound of the national instrument will reverberate in the south land on the night of January 25 as 14 bands do battle for the National Panorama 2023 Small Conventional Bands finals title at Skinner Park, San Fernando.

Among the 14 are five bands from the South/Central Region of Pan Trinbago, the majority in this year’s competition. They are Golden Hands, Fusion Steel, Panasonic Connection, of San Fernando, Southern Stars Steel Orchestra of Siparia, and Todds Road Rhythem Raiders from Central Trinidad.

All five are hoping to wrest the title from defending champion T&TEC New East Side Dimension of Tobago and walk away with the trophy, bragging rights and a prized purse. The fight would not be easy, as New East Dimension has been scoring top marks in the preliminary and semifinals with its arrangement of Rain-O-Rama.

The makeup of the competing bands includes four from the eastern region, three from the north region and two from Tobago.

First band in the spotlight will be the TT Defence Force Steel Orchestra with Swing, while Todd's Road Rhythem Raiders will end the competition with their arrangement of Golo.

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At the 2024 competition, held at the same Skinner Park venue, the steelbands, although smaller in numbers, experienced great difficulty getting on and off the stage as posts narrowed their pathway.

This caused the show to drag on for hours, well into the wee hours of the following day.

Chairman of the South/Central Region Philip Barker said that experience was taken into consideration and amendments had been made to allow better flow.

Barker recalled the difficulty posed had to do with the one stage which was used for major shows, including Calypso Fiesta.

“Bands were challenged as the support for the canopy used for calypso fiesta, was in the way and made it difficult for the bands to manoeuvre their racks. Also, the entrance and exit ramps were too steep, so the bands were skating while coming on and off the stage.

“This year, the stage has been carried some 20 feet further west so that the ramp is of a lesser gradient. This should affect a smoother flow.”

Competition is expected to start at 7 pm

Order of appearance

1.
TT Defence Force Steel Orchestra (Swing arranged by Shaquille Vincent)

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2.
Fascinators Pan Symphony (Weakness arranged by Stefon West)

3.
T&TEC New East Side Dimension (Rain-o-Rama arranged by Kersh Ramsey)

4.
Road Block Steel Orchestra (Soca Train arranged by Dejean Cain)

5.
Fusion Steel (Bonnie and Clyde arranged by Darren Sheppard)

6.
St Margaret's Super Stars (Rack Me Rack Me arranged by Sheldon Peters and Elijah "patchy" Beckles)

7.
First Citizens Tobago Panthers (Tiney Wey arranged by Micheal Toby)

8.
Panosonic Connection (Garlic Sauce arranged by Marclon Byron)

9.
Uptown Fascinators (Doh Rock It So arranged by Ojay Richards)

10.
Arima Golden Symphony (Golo)

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11.
Southern Stars Steel Orchestra (d'south band) (Mih Lover arranged by Duvone Stewart)

12.
Tokyo Steel Orchestra (Cheers to Life)

13.
Golden Hands (Mih Lover)

14.
Todd's Road Rhythem Raiders (Golo)

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