"Sun and sweet steelband music" filled the Paddock in the Queen's Park Savannah, said the house announcer, as the preliminary round in the small bands category of the National Steelband Panorama took place yesterday.Staged by the northern region of Pan Trinbago, 17 orchestras were scheduled to compete. The contest began at at 2.30 pm in broiling hot sun before a handful of patrons.
The first band to perform was Merrytones, from Diego Martin, doing a Richard Gittens arrangement of Clive Telemaque's 2014 composition Excitement. Next came West Stars Steel Orchestra playing a Lincoln Waldron arrangement of the Mighty Sparrow's Du Du Yemi (Natasha).
Notably, competing bands chose to play many past calypso hits. Belmont's Casablanca chose the late Kitchener's Mystery Band, arranged by PanAm (Kenneth Clarke). Harvard Harps from St James went for Black Stalin's Bun Dem, arranged by Douglas Redon; Blue Diamonds from Nelson Street, Port-of-Spain opted for Shadow's I Come Out To Play arranged by Ronald Alleyne; and Morvant Ebonites selected Baron's Tell Me Why.
Caribbean Paradise, Pandemonium and Highlanders Steel Orchestras were not present to perform in their allotted slots. The judging panel comprised Joanne Ragbir, Richard Pierre, Junior Howell and Joslynne Sealey.
Following the small bands category, competition in the medium bands category was scheduled to take place between ten steel orchestras: Panatics, Courts Sound Specialists of Laventille, Tokyo, Power Stars, Belmont Fifth Dimension, St Margaret's Superstars, Western Stars Philharmonics, Flabej Now Ensemble, Valley Harps and Cocorite West Wind.