The Ultimate Calypso Tent is back this year and is promising a show fit for the entire family.
Organiser of the tent Zimronn Andrews told the media at a press conference at Kingdom Culture International Church, Fontabelle, St Michael that the 11-year-old tent will be bringing positive messages.
“In our lineup, we have [singers] from age seven up to 70. So, we are making sure the entire family can see a calypsonian that is bringing a message to them. While some of our songs may be comical at times, there is always some sort of message that is available for the public,” he said.
The tent, hosted and funded by the Kingdom Culture International Church, has a full cast with Billboard, Jude Clarke, Dynamo, Jael, Deslayah, De Original Clarke Dan, Alana, De Lioness, De Big Rock, Janiah, Z2, I-Fill, Miracle, and Zimronn. Andrews said their mandate is to allow persons to enjoy wholesome entertainment.
From left, Billboard, Jael, Jude Clarke, Organiser Zimronn Andrews, I-Fill and De Big Rock
“Our basic objective is to ensure that there is an environment and a door that is open for the entire family where you can come and enjoy wholesome entertainment. When we say wholesome, we mean that we are not limited in the genre. So, we will have soca as well as Bashment soca. We appreciate the various genres of music because, in reality, God created music,” he said.
Musical Director of Kingdom Culture International Ministries Billboard Murrell said the tent does not judge but allows their calypsonians to be in other tents so their kaisos can be judged by the National Cultural Foundation (NCF).
“We found that if we as a tent go and judge, then we would have to call all the calypsonians we have in other tents back into our tent solely. So, Jude and Jael would not be able to participate in All Stars; I would not be able to participate in House of Soca. If we come together as a body to do our own judging in NCF competitions then we cannot go to these other tents. So, [we’d have] a situation where we are not able to put our music and our message in every place that we want it to go. We decided we are not going to judge but we are still going to provide that atmosphere that any person can come. So you will see a lot of our artistes singing in other tents,” he said.
Murrell also tackled the debate that Christians should not be involved in Crop Over events stating that they should be involved in elements of Barbadian culture but do so in a way that promotes the glory of God and his Kingdom.
“As Barbadians, I think that we should be involved in every aspect of our culture, but it is how we do things. As Christians, why shouldn’t we love calypso? Calypso is a beat, a genre; Bashment Soca is a beat, it is a genre. It is just a vehicle to carry a message and we would ensure that the message we carry is a positive and wholesome [one that] everyone can listen to,” he said.
The tent kicks off on Friday, June 21 at 8 p.m. at Kingdom Culture International Ministries Fontabelle, St Michael.
