Crop Over performers battle pressure behind the scenes

As the nation revels in the vibrant celebration of Crop Over year after year, the performers who fuel its sound and spirit are quietly grappling with mounting emotional and financial distress, a toll that Barbados’ creative community is tackling behind the scenes.

President of the Barbados Association of Creatives and Artistes (BACA), Sean Apache Carter, noted that many entertainers are expected to deliver flawless performances, even while navigating illness, personal crises, or burnout.

“Despite what you are personally going through, you are still expected to give 100 per cent every single time you show up on stage,” Carter told Barbados TODAY.

“You are as good as your last performance.”

He added: “This, which is a real feel-good for everybody else in the country, could be a very stressful thing for entertainers especially for those who are competing.”

Carter said Crop Over places creatives under enormous pressure from the cost of music production and competition to the emotional weight of performing through grief, exhaustion or depression.

“It takes a toll on your mind, it takes a toll on your body, it affects your entire household, your family, your finances,” he said.

“Life doesn’t stop. You’ve still got your commitments, your bills to pay even while you’re trying to record and compete.”

The BACA head referenced the high cost of recording, the emotional labour involved in writing social commentary, and the added pressure of competition on top of maintaining a consistent public presence.

For some veterans, the toll has become too much to manage.

“You’d see some years [Mighty] Gabby wouldn’t compete, some years [Red] Plastic Bag wouldn’t compete because it takes a lot out of you,” Carter said.

While the mental health strain is becoming harder to ignore, he admitted it wasn’t the original motivation behind BACA’s latest initiative, a new partnership with the Healthier Nation Initiative (HNI), which gives members of the association access to discounted health and wellness services from more than 100 providers across the island.

“We didn’t look at it from the perspective of mental health,” he said.

“We were more looking at the number of non-communicable diseases we were seeing. Several entertainers are diabetics, and we realised people were not necessarily taking care of their bodies.”

However, he acknowledged that the deeper need for support, whether physical, emotional, and social, cannot be ignored.

Noting that the “importance of creatives being healthy was a driving force behind going in the direction of HNI,” he shared that the BACA/HNI Discount Card now gives members access to savings on services such as medical care, gyms, counselling, massage therapy, and more.

Carter sees it as a small step in the right direction, offering tools that many creatives might not otherwise prioritise or afford.

Beyond formal support, he noted that informal peer networks such as BACA’s internal WhatsApp group and wellness seminars also serve as an emotional release valve.

“That helps with mental health as well,” he said.

“We probably prefer a private space… when we have the safety of being around each other, that helps.”

BACA has long recognised the challenges performers face in their later years.

The organisation’s annual tribute concert feeds into a Benevolent Fund that supports artists facing illness or hardship, many of whom, Carter said, did not adequately care for themselves in their prime.

“Persons in their heyday, they ‘do well’… pay their mortgage, their car loan. But when they become sick or old and can’t perform, they find themselves in financial challenges,” he said.

While the new health initiative is a welcome addition, Carter believes the broader conversation on mental wellness in the cultural sector is only just beginning.

“We’re the ones always pouring out. We lift people’s spirits with a song or a poem but that pressure to always give… it takes a toll on you,” he said, reiterating the need for entertainers to take care of themselves. 

shannamoore@barbadostoday.bb