Love of music takes Sherisse Collymore stage front

SHERISSE Collymore has been in love with music since she was a child. She would gape in sheer glee at musicals like The Sound of Music and The Wizard of Oz on TV, hoping that someday, she, too, could become a singer. Now 30, having dabbled in calypso, soca and other genres, the lead female vocalist of Temperature the Band said her love for music remains paramount.

Collymore told WMN teachers at her primary school, St Peter’s Private Primary School in Gasparillo, recognised her interest in music since “nursery days.”

“I was only three years old and I must say kudos to them,” she said.

Barely being able to enunciate and pronounce words properly then, she joked that she gave the performance of a lifetime singing a parang tune at a school event.

“It was called Ay Ay Maria…I was as brave as can be on stage singing,” she said, laughing.

She said the school also did a lot of plays and musicals, which led to her interest in theatre.

“And I was so happy, because all I wanted to do was just sing.”

Kaiso kaiso

She recalled watching Calypso Monarch on TV with her mother as being a life-changing moment. It was then her interest in kaiso was born.

“It was the semifinals at Skinner Park and I saw Karene Asche and Kizzie Ruiz on stage. I told my mom (Ermine Collymore), ‘Mommy! Mommy! I could do that! I want to do that!’ She said, ‘Are you sure?’ and I said, ‘Yes, Mommy, I want to sing kaiso.’”

Her mother then liaised with songwriters and her kaiso journey began.

“I was competing all over TT. Sometimes I would go as far as Toco and Valencia, and I really enjoyed doing it.”

She would also write some of her own songs.

“I think that’s when I realised I have a little competitive streak in me.”

She also thanked her mother for not pressuring her, which she found common with child singers back then.

“I'm so happy for that, because if I told her, ‘Mommy, I don't want to sing this, I don't want to go here, I'm good,’ she wouldn’t force me."

She continued music at Gasparillo Secondary School, went on to win Miss Sanfest in 2009, and placed third in Junior Calypso Monarch in 2012.

She said back then, she actually wanted to become a journalist or communications professional.

“My mother knew I loved music, but she wanted me to also do something I could just fall back on in case it didn’t work out. And she wasn’t one of those parents who (force careers) on to their child, either.”

Transition to soca

When Collymore realised COSTAATT (College of Science Technology and Applied Arts TT) had programmes in music, she pitched the idea to her mother, saying: "If music doesn’t work out for me, I could always become a (music) teacher."

She has an associate degree in music and is working on completing her bachelor’s.

She said it was at COSTAATT that she met two Kyles who, unbeknown to her, would help kickstart her soca career.

She felt she wanted to express herself differently as she got older and wanted to try out soca instead.

Then she met producer Kyle “Badjohn Republic” Phillips and guitarist and producer Kyle Peters.

“(Phillips) would drive up the road and he would have his beats playing in his car. He would ask, ‘What do y'all think about this?’”

Philips, along with his brother Kasey and Bjorn Graham, went on to produce her first soca track, The Main Thing. This song was part of the Endurance Riddim in 2019, which featured Sekon Sta and V’ghn.

As for Peters, she had joined his band Vizion, and she said that was the start of her doing non-calypso gigs as a singer.

“I am just really thankful to the two of them.”

It came full circle yet again in 2024, as Peters produced her song titled Sprung on the Sweet Waist Riddim. The riddim also features Adam O and Jovanity.

She never opted for a sobriquet, as: “I'm proud to say I'm Sherisse Collymore. That is me and I want to keep that.

“I remember when people would say I'm not a true calypsonian because I didn’t have one. But I would say, ‘So who's Machel Montano?’ Machel, Patrice Roberts – all of them started in calypso and they have their regular names.”

Other soca tracks she has released over the years include Pressure, One Wine and Mind Control.

She has also done background vocals for songs including Stage Gone Bad by Iwer George and Kes, which won Road March in 2020, and for artistes including Montano, Nadia Batson, Farmer Nappy and Kerwin Du Bois, among others.

She does live backup vocals as well and has done so for Teddyson John.

Warm welcome at Temperature the Band

She is now the lead female vocalist of Temperature the Band, where she not only sings soca but other genres like jazz and R&B. She officially landed the role in late 2024, making 2025 her first Carnival season in the group.

“I’m really busy every Carnival season just doing what I can to survive as an entertainer. But I think this Carnival, there will be even more sleepless nights for me,” she said, laughing.

She said the band has a lot of shows coming up, including one in Guyana, and that working with it so far has been amazing and energetic.

She explained that performing with a band brings a good, “different vibe, because it’s live music.

“You have a support system and sometimes, if a performance doesn’t go the way you envision, you can change up the performance with a band…If you realise the audience is really feeling a song, you can extend it live, as opposed to a performance track.”

There are a few musicians in her family and she, too, has tried out guitar and piano.She also loves acoustic performances.

“I find it's so...that it's so just beautiful and it's stripped down. You can do so much with just vocals and an acoustic guitar. I would always prefer to do an acoustic live performance.

“I grew up always being able to sing with a band, and even when I transitioned into gigging, it was always that live band backing me, and it's such an overall difference than being in a studio as well as singing along to a track.”

She said the feedback on both her solo music and performances with the band has been “tremendous and amazing.

“People tell me they love my voice, and when it comes to live performances, they say they like my tone and the edgy (fashion) style I have.

“(My songs) have been playing on the radio as well and I am very, very happy about that.”

She looks forward to growing as an entertainer and remains thankful to all who have supported her on her journey.