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Second International Bashment Soca Monarch Semi-Finalists Announced

K.F. Cumberbatch
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Second International Bashment Soca Monarch Semi-Finalists Announced

The twenty-five semi-finalist of the second annual International Bashment Soca Monarch competition were announced yesterday evening on 98.1 The One F.M., HOTT 95.3 F.M. and live on the competition’s Instagram.

The vast majority of artists in the semi-finals are from Barbados, with only six of the twenty-five being from five other countries: St. Lucia, Guyana, the United States, St. Vincent and Belize. The twelve finalists will be chosen by a public vote and compete against reigning Monarch, Lil Rick, on July 6th at Pirate’s Cove.

Unlike last year, there will be no winner-takes-all prize. Instead, there will be cash and other prizes for the top three performers, as well as appearance fees paid to all artists. The winner will receive $60,000, second place $15,000 and third place $5,000.

The finals of the competition will also encompass a beach party, headlined by International Soca Monarch Mr. Killa. Tickets to the show are now on sale.

Public voting for the competition is now open on the competition’s website and will close on June 17th. Voters can vote once every twenty-four hours.

See the images below for the full list of semi-finalists and ticket outlets. Follow International Bashment Soca Monarch on Facebook and Instagram for updates and more details.

2 Mile Hill Releases “Run It”, Issues Challenge

K.F. Cumberbatch
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2 Mile Hill Releases “Run It”, Issues Challenge

Two days ago the quintet known as 2 Mile Hill – formerly Nexcys – dropped their first ever soca track, “Run It.” Now, hot on the heels of the hit song, the band has started the Run It Challenge.

Frontwoman of the band Mahalia Cummings announced the challenge in an interview on Hott 95.3 with John Doe last evening, where she described the song as “a vibe” and the “next logical step” after the singles “Conversation” and “Get Over.” Doe called the song “contagious” and able to “cross borders and boundaries.”

Cummings explained:

“That’s the whole point. That’s the idea. We reaching out to the world…Barbados is formidable. We got the talent. We got the vibes – we got vibes here…without a doubt. So come to Barbados and feel the vibes!”

“Run It” is not the first song that 2 Mile Hill has released during the Crop Over season – the first being “Get Over”, which debuted last April – but it is the first specifically for the festival. The song was written by Cummings after producer and bandmate André Clarke presented her with the rhythm.

The Run It Challenge was kicked off today when 2 Mile Hill posted a video of Cummings dancing to the song on their social media. Fans are encouraged to make their own dance videos of the song and post them to their socials using the hashtag “#runitchallenge” and tagging the band with @2milehill.

Listen to “Run It” below and watch Cummings’ Run It Challenge video.

https://www.facebook.com/2milehill/videos/305434793723302/

Local Film ‘Too Lickrish’ Premieres At Olympus Theatres

K.F. Cumberbatch
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0
Local Film ‘Too Lickrish’ Premieres At Olympus Theatres

Barbadians will have the opportunity to see the latest local film to be added to the growing list of Barbadian-made productions on June 5th, when Too Lickrish – which stars social media star, comedian and soca artiste Seth Bovell – arrives in Olympus Theatres. The several lucky persons who were able to make it to the red carpet premiere at the aforementioned cinema this past Thursday, however, were able to see the film early.

In attendance at the premiere were some of the most prominent figures in the Barbadian film industry, including composer Andre Woodvine, actor Patrick Michael Foster and Film Commissioner Annette Nias. Guests were treated to live music, champagne and hors d’oeuvres (mini quiche, pigs in blankets and chicken profiterole), as well as free samples of flavoured water from sponsor Dasani. Businessman and public figure Victor Fernandes introduced the film’s director, Tolga Akcayli, who spoke briefly to the audience before the screening of the film. Akcayli returned at the end of the film for a Q&A with the cast and crew.

‘Too Lickrish’ director Tolga Ackayli.

Akcayli described the film as being a form of self reflection. Like himself, the main character – played by and sharing a name with Seth Bovell – had a dream, but did everything besides pursuing it. He attended three universities where he studied law and economics and dropped out of all of them before entering film school and finding success. Local actor Simon Alleyne, who also appears in the film, commended Akcayli’s work and called him an “actor’s director” who gave the actors the autonomy to create and develop their characters.

Ackayli announced that the film will be on iTunes and that he will be contacting Amazon and Netflix to make the film available on their streaming platforms. The film has been submitted to various film festivals.

For more photos from the Too Lickrish premiere, visit our Facebook page.

Follow Too Lickrish on Facebook and Instagram.

 

 

Pampalam Barbados Unveils Kadooment 2019 Costumes

K.F. Cumberbatch
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0
Pampalam Barbados Unveils Kadooment 2019 Costumes

Crop Over meets art and high fashion in Pampalam Barbados’ first ever costume offerings for the annual Kadooment Day parade of bands. This is truthfully the band’s second year in operation; they unveiled stunning costumes for Nottingham Hill Carnival last year, for which they partnered with Legion Mas – an individual costume service and the “first cosplay inspired carnival band sponsored by London Comic Con” – founded by Melissa Simon-Hartman. This year she is joined by New York based designer Desma Bidjou-Kerekes.

The band’s theme for Crop Over 2019 is “Petals of Paradise.” The four sections that masqueraders can choose from are inspired by and named after the Pride of Barbados, Frangipani, Black Orchid and Anthurium flowers. Black Orchid is the only section with a male costume.

“Petals of Paradise speaks to the beauty, texture and vibrancy of the Pride of Barbados, Anthurium, Frangipani and Black Orchid flowers: basking in their bold colors, depicting strength, genesis, perseverance and beauty.”

Black Orchid Frontline

 

The female costumes range in price from $475 USD to $700 USD and the male costume’s price is $375 USD. Pampalam Barbados’ package includes the costume,a goodie bag of sponsored gifts, breakfast⁣, a music truck, a premium drink bar⁣, snacks, mobile bathrooms⁣, professionally trained security⁣, a medic service⁣ and mobile drinks carts.

Registration is now open on www.pampalambarbados.com, where their selection of costumes can be viewed. Follow the band on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Sundown Superhero EP ‘For What It’s Worth’ Out Now

K.F. Cumberbatch
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0
Sundown Superhero EP ‘For What It’s Worth’ Out Now

Less than a year (seven months, to be precise) after the release of their debut EP Wake Up The Neighborhood, local pop-punk band Sundown Superhero today released their second EP, For What It’s Worth. Ahead of the release, the band dropped two singles from the EP: “Endless Summer” and “Hit Repeat.”

The EP was recorded in four days at Pavillion Studios in Barbados and produced by Jordon Silva, who the band previously collaborated with on their first EP, Wake Up The Neighbourhood (along with local musician and producer Simon Pipe). It features the six tracks “Pointless Game”, “Endless Summer”, “Hit Repeat”, “Another Song”, “Life After You”, and “Long Nights”, all of which were written by the band.

Speaking to Zeitgeist, lead vocalist and guitarist Emile Sabga said:

“… we’re writing new music all the time. We knew we had enough material for another EP with a more progressive and mature sound…we saw an opportunity to push our creative limits and we took it.”

Fans will get the opportunity to hear the band perform their new music live at their first music festival, Sundown Fest, tomorrow at Ocean Park. The festival starts at 7:00 PM. Band merch will be on sale.

For What It’s Worth is available on all streaming platforms, the band’s YouTube channel and can be previewed on their website. Follow them on social media for updates and more information on Sundown Fest.

Alluhwi Comics Launches Mobile App

K.F. Cumberbatch
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0
Alluhwi Comics Launches Mobile App

Alluhwi Comics, a Caribbean distributor of Caribbean-made comic books, just launched the open beta for their new Alluhwi Comics app on the Google Play Store. The app, which is slated to be released on iOS at a later date, is subscription based and will allow user to buy, read and rate comics from Caribbean comics creators. The open beta is free to use. Users are required to sign up with their email address or Google or Facebook account.

Developed by Bolt from the Blue Entertainment, it is described as “the Caribbean’s first mobile platform for comics”, the app was created with the purpose of making Caribbean-made comics “accessible and affordable”, to “provide compensation options for regional creators through incremental revenue, and later licensing and merchandising” and further Caribbean representation in comics.

Alluhwi Comics is available from the Google Play Store here. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram for more information and updates.

Eunoia And Kontact Latest To Launch Online

K.F. Cumberbatch
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0
Eunoia And Kontact Latest To Launch Online

This past weekend, Kadooment bands Eunoia and Kontact were the latest to reveal their costume offerings for this year’s Crop Over with virtual launches. Whereas Eunoia presented their costumes via a series of videos – one for each section – on their Facebook and Instagram pages, Kontact took a simpler approach and shared the costumes via photos on their social media.

Eunoia was the first to launch last weekend, on Friday, May 10th. Their theme for this year is “Birds of A Feather” and as such, each of the six sections is named after a species of bird; Area Alba or The Egrets, Icteria Virens or The Yellow Breast, Turtur Chalcospilos or The Wood Dove, Trochilidae or The Hummingbird, Turdus Merula or The Black Bird and Gallus Gallus or The Pailing Cock.

Area Alba or The Egrets, Icteria Virens or The Yellow Breast, Turtur Chalcospilos or The Wood Dove, Trochilidae or The Hummingbird, Turdus Merula or The Black Bird and Gallus Gallus or The Pailing Cock

Female costumes start at $248 USD for early bird pricing or $430 USD for regular pricing and male costumes at $197 USD for early bird pricing and $297 USD for regular.

Kontact launched the following evening, under the theme “Msafiri: The Journey Continues.” “Msafiri” is Swahili for “traveller.” The ten sections for this year are Kumasi, Hollywood, Yucatan, Northern Lights, The River Nile, French Riviera, Cropovian, Rio, Jaipur and Savannah.

Kumasi, Hollywood, Yucatan, Northern Lights, The River Nile, French Riviera, Cropovian, Rio, Jaipur and Savannah

Female costumes start at $400 USD and male costumes at $285 USD.

For more information on each band’s offerings and registration, visit them on their social media pages.

Eunoia
Facebook
Instagram

Kontact
Facebook
Instagram

Sundown Superhero Hosting First Music Festival

K.F. Cumberbatch
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0
Sundown Superhero Hosting First Music Festival

This coming Saturday, May 18th, Barbados’ own pop-punk band Sundown Superhero will host their first – and the band hopes, annual – music festival; Sundown Fest. The festival will be held at Ocean Park in St. Philip, starting at 7:00 PM, the day after the band releases their second EP, the title of which still has yet to be revealed. The first single from the EP, “Hit Repeat”, was released on May 3rd.

In keeping with the band’s history as skateboarding enthusiasts and their upbeat, party vibe, there will be a live skate demonstration by the Skateboard Association of Barbados and a Beer Pong Tournament. In addition to the band, other artists performing are Psilos, Jacob Layson and Zoe Hansen as well as DJ Ace Sound. Band merch will be on sale, local art will be on display and available for purchase, and there will be a “fully loaded kitchen and bar.”

Tickets are $20 and available from A&B Music Supplies in Sheraton Mall, Heroes Gamers’ Lounge in 1st Avenue, Belleville, Jet Express in Maxwell and the festival’s performers.

Sundown Superhero will embark on their first tour, The Rum and The Reckless Summer 2019 Tour, this June in Southern Ontario. They’ll be joined by Nothing Serious, Among Legends, Freedom and the Astronaut and more.

Check out the band in social media for more information:
Instagram
Facebook

Barbados Reggae Festival 2019 In Review

Kofi Jones
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Barbados Reggae Festival 2019 In Review

After months of preparations, anticipation and general hype, the 2019 Barbados Reggae Festival shook things up a bit by getting rid of the staple Reggae On The Hill stage show and replacing it with the highly anticipated Barbadian leg of the Buju Banton Long Walk To Freedom tour. The date marked a full decade since the previously incarcerated superstar graced a Barbadian stage. It was pretty much a struggle for patrons to acquire tickets for the show, and upon arrival, it was super clear that an increase in bus fare in no way held back Barbadians from taking in this experience.

Arriving at a time that I considered to be fairly early, the Kensington Oval was packed. Originally I planned to take some photos of the folks in the general section, but this turned out to be a terrible idea. The sea of people in line trying to make their way inside was truly overwhelming. Reminiscent of when Rihanna’s Loud Tour made a stop in Barbados. Making my way into the other line for the dedicated media area, I was yet again overwhelmed by a mass of people. I really didn’t expect the VIP section to be that packed so early. I just figured most patrons would arrive during Buggy’s performance. But I guess everyone correctly assumed that this wasn’t the occasion for “Bajan time” or any other folly.

Onto the actual show. It was flawless, to say the least.

Barbados born and based Buggy Nkakente honestly made me proud. I am “fussy” to admit that this guy was my neighbour for a while. The performance was amazing. I didn’t even realize that I knew so many songs from Buggy’s catalogue. Overhearing some of the other patrons, I have to say that they felt the same. One patron in particular questioned why he doesn’t see Buggy performing at more local events. Which in all honestly is an extremely reasonable question. I truly do believe that he and other Bajan reggae artists deserve a share on the big stages, but we all know how the Bajan reggae night turned out.

Following Buggy, we had a DJ interlude with DJs Indian and Chris Gayle, which was delightfully  “shelly”; a welcoming vibe to shake up the crowd a bit. They paved the way for the next artist, Mr Wayne Wonder. You already know how this went. He brought his voice and his hits and caused the entire crowd to sway and rock. When he sang “No Letting Go” I was satisfied. I could’ve gone home. But luckily, I didn’t…because…because…

D MEN BRING A WHOLE AGENT SASCO!!! D MEN BRING A WHOLE ASSASIN!!! CAWDE!!!

My guy destroyed the stage for half of an hour. Bringing big tune after big tune. You would’ve thought that they were going to call 311 to calm us down afterwards. However, they decided to bring home boy DJ Puffy right after. He performed a great set, letting us know that he isn’t playing with that “World Champion” title of his. I don’t know if you can tell, but I was excited to be there. We had Mr. Differ himself, Spragga Benz, as the penultimate performance. He performed hit after hit. It really doesn’t hit you how large of a catalogue these artists have until you see them at a show of this magnitude. Truly impressive.

Then the time arrived for the main man himself. Everything was on point. Shout out to the lighting company, the sound guys, the band, everyone that made it possible. I just really felt like I was in another country. Everything just looked and sounded great. Except for one thing: I truly felt like Buju’s wardrobe was sponsored by Bionic Man shop on Christmas morning.

Verily I say unto you, my man looked like he was stepping out to go to Queen’s Park. It’s not important though, because – in case you couldn’t tell from the theme of this article – he killed it. It’s amazing to think he was in prison. Was his cellmate a vocal trainer? I cannot understand how he comfortably performed for two hours. And I mean performed. It was truly a spectacle to behold. If you didn’t go, I’ll assume you weren’t in the country. And that’s honestly your fault. Why would you travel then? Do better!

Next on the agenda, we have the Reggae Beach Party. Which unfortunately brought me to my first con of the festival: Parking.

I took a literal hour and a half trying to park. I did arrive later than I intended to, and upon arrival I saw someone leaving the Pirates’ Cove car park, thinking this meant a parking space had been freed up. I entered and unfortunately found none. This would’ve been okay, except for the fact that four people followed me in, and exiting was an unnecessary confusion that I personally think could’ve been solved by having a parking attendant on site. It honestly ruined the mood for me. A literal hour and a half.

When I made it in, Busy Signal was beginning his performance. Meaning that I, unfortunately, missed every single local performance. Which in itself was interesting, because I heard that there was too much soca music played for a reggae festival. In my opinion, if it had been predominantly bashment soca, that wouldn’t have been the reaction. Although the artists that they had on the stage weren’t exactly bashment artists. I’m all about mixing genres of music, so I wouldn’t mind at all, but I guess it’s something to consider.

As for what I was able to experience, it was the best Reggae on the Beach yet!

Busy Signal can’t really do any wrong in Bim. Let’s be real. The man helped raised my generation in dancehall, tied with Aidonia in third place. What I really want to touch on was Sizzla’s set. Well if you include the high knee thing he does when he performs, kinda like going up stairs nine at a time? Always makes me smile. But I’m talking about when Spragga Benz, Wayne Wonder and Agent Sasco joined him.

All of them.

On stage.

At the same time.

I only see things like that on YouTube. I didn’t know what to do. I was just in awe.

However, I cannot end this part of the article without mentioning Puffy and Blaqrose’s set prior to Sizzla, rinsing off tunes relentlessly. Kudos to those guys.

Tuesday, the 30th, brought us the finale of the Reggae Festival with the Vintage Reggae Show and Dance. Year after year I’m always intrigued by the number of young people that come out to this event. Young adults accompanied by their parents or older couples filled the Kensington Oval yet again. I’ll admit, I wasn’t raised on reggae, though I do respect the classics. I was amazed to find out Splashband has songs other than that one CBC song. I have nothing but good things to say about the performances. However, I have to point out that in all honestly, I thought Judy Boucher’s voice was a little…off. And I also have to point out that Lil Rick’s performance was on point!

I have to congratulate the Fas7Star team on an amazing shuttle service as well. After having issues getting through to my taxi guy, I saw a bus right outside the venue going  my way for only $7. They made sure that any and everyone could have access to this grand event.

Year after year the Fas7Star team gives us amazing shows. I’m already excited to see what they have to give us next year.

Xhosa Barbados Launches ‘Ethos’ For Crop Over 2019

K.F. Cumberbatch
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0
Xhosa Barbados Launches ‘Ethos’ For Crop Over 2019

Kadooment band Xhosa Barbados bucked the virtual launch trend that has dominated the season thus far and had their usual cooler fete and launch party. It all went down at the George Washington House this past Sunday.

When asked why Xhosa decided not to do a virtual launch, band leader Jeremy Nicholls said:

“Our mantra is “We don’t pose. We party.” So a virtual launch would not have been ideal for us to do. If you look out there, people are having a great time, chilling with their friends…that is what we do. So it’s best that this is the environment that we launch in.”

The theme for this – the band’s fifth – year is “Ethos”; a Greek word meaning “character” and is defined as “the characteristic spirit of a culture, era, or community as manifested in its beliefs and aspirations.” In this spirit, Xhosa Barbados has conceptualised six sections from which patrons can choose costumes for Kadooment Day: Allure, Frolic, Kaiso, Lava, Muse and Rhapsody. Female costumes are priced from $450 USD to $900 USD and male costumes from $335 USD to $350 USD. Registration is open on Xhosa Barbados’ website.

Allure, Frolic, Kaiso, Lava, Muse and Rhapsody Frontline Costumes.

For photos from the band launch, visit our Facebook page.

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