Calypsonians back one-song format, call for nex-gen songwriters

A renewed push to nurture young calypso songwriters was gathering pace on Monday, as leading figures in the music community backed the National Cultural Foundation’s decision to retain the single-song format for the Pic-O-De-Crop Competition.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for Culture, Senator Dr Shantal Munro-Knight confirmed at the weekend that the format would remain in place for the 2025 season. Most artistes have now come to terms with the change, which was introduced in 2019, according to veteran calypsonian and head of the Barbados Association of Creatives and Artistes (BACA), Sean Apache Carter.

“I think the calypsonians are pretty settled now at this stage with the one song,” Carter told Barbados TODAY. “There are still some people who prefer the two-song format, but the majority of calypsonians have accepted and embraced the one-song format. BACA has embraced it, and I accept it. But, personally, I prefer the two songs because I think it really separates the sheep from the goats.”

Apache acknowledged the momentum the one-song structure has gained among performers both inside and outside BACA.

Tent managers have also warmed to the shift. Sharon Carew-White, of the House of Soca tent, praised the format for bringing fresh energy and a more focused experience to calypso nights.

House of Soca tent manager, Sharon Carew-White.

She said: “We’ve entered the competition this year knowing it was a one-song format and we don’t have a problem. What I like about the one song is that it brings a freshness and, in terms of the tent, if you get there from 6 p.m., especially on our opening, or 7 p.m. on a regular night, you’re going to get to see everything. You see one shot at it, one chance, one performance, but with that performance you’ve got to bring the heat to the highest standard, and that’s what the cast do.”

While the new format has drawn broad support, calypsonians see the need to develop more young writers to safeguard the future of the calypso artform.

Carter believes that while the Junior Monarch programme is strong in performance preparation, more emphasis is needed on developing young artistes’ songwriting abilities.

“What I would like to see improve is more of the juniors being involved in their writing process, because when you transition them to the bigger stage, the Pic-O-De-Crop, what you find is that there are a crop of writers who write for everybody,” he explained.

He noted that writers such as Crystal, Billboard, and the Water Street Boys are highly skilled in their craft, but their work dominates both junior and senior competitions. He said that the over-reliance on a few creatives presents a risk to the continuity of the genre.

Carter said: “I believe if you can get the juniors into writing, when they transition then we will have more writers, and I think that’s what we need to do. We need to build towards the future and realise that, for example, Sir Don used to write for many people, Sir Don has now passed; Gabby again writes for several people, what’s going to happen when he passes? So instead of waiting until these gaps are created, we need to have that plan in mind and I think that’s the area of development that can be done, as far as the juniors are concerned.”

That call is being echoed by tent managers who are already seeing the benefits of investing in writing workshops. Eleanor Rice, manager of the All Stars Calypso Tent, noted that the NCF writers’ workshop, which started earlier this year compared to previous years, had paid off in a positive way.

Rice said: “I have to say that the workshops worked well. At the meetings we did discuss having the workshops. As long as they give people opportunities to have the writing workshop, they should be held earlier. They were held earlier and enough notice was given, and as a result of that, two or three of my people last night [opening night for the tent] sang their own self-penned songs. As a result of the writing workshops, people decided, hey, you know what, let me try this, and that is what success is about: doing something and getting results from it.”

House of Soca has extended its development programme to include youth as young as seven, and has continued to encourage songwriting among regular performers, Carew-White added.

“We did quite a number of things this year in terms of our continuous development programme,” she said. “We’ve now extended it to juniors between seven and 18, but our regulars, we did not hold back, we did our songwriting workshops. We attended the NCF workshops as well, and from it, all you have to do this year is once again apply what you’ve learnt and put it to good fruition. I think the artform is in good standing; I would say House of Soca has filled the void with a lot of young talent that’s ready to showcase and fight for a crown.” (SB)