Stage set for Panorama finals tomorrow

The musical battle among the top steel orchestras, with a total of $11 million in prize money at stake, takes place tomorrow night at the Queen’s Park Savannah. The blink/bmobile event began with the preliminaries with a total of 90 entrants. Of the ten medium bands in the finals, three will play the Mark Loquan/Ken Philmore/Destra Garcia composition, titled Calling Meh, while two others are going with Wake Up.

At the end of the semifinals, two of the three large bands with the highest scores—PCS Silver Stars and Neal & Massy Trinidad All Stars—played  It’s Showtime by Edwin Pouchet/ Alvin Daniell, while Petrotrin Phase II Pan Groove played Len Boogsie Sharpe’s interpretation of Do Something For Pan.

Steel Xplosion and PCS Silver Stars will be defending their respective titles, with the former playing at number five in its category and the latter drawing position eight. Also in the finals are four Tobago steel orchestras. Tomorrow night’s event will end the season’s play-off with a $2 million first prize. Showtime is 7 pm with ten bands playing in the medium category, followed by an equal number of large bands.

THE line-up

MEDIUM BANDS    SELECTION    ARRANGER
1 Pan Elders    A Raging Storm    Alvin Gittens
2 Power Stars    It’s Showtime    Arddin Herbert
3 Katzenjammers    Wake Up    Edwin Pouchet
4 NLCB Buccooneers    Calling Meh    Seion Gomez
5 Steel Xplosion    Wake Up    Carlton Alexander
6 Pamberi    TKO    Brian Villafana
7 Sangre Grande Cordettes    Calling Meh    Andes Kappel
8 Valley Harps    Do Something For Pan    Michelle Huggins-Watts
9 Courts Sound Specialists of Laventille    Calling Meh    Ken “Professor” Philmore
10 Arima Angel Harps    TKO    Shelton Besson

LARGE BANDS    SELECTION    ARRANGER
1 Neal & Massy T’dad All Stars    It’s Showtime    Leon “Smooth” Edwards
2. Sagicor Exodus    Calling Meh    Pelham Goddard
3. NLCB Fonclaire    A Raging Storm    Ken “Professor” Philmore
4. Petrotrin Phase 11 Pan Groove    Do Something For Pan    Len “Boogsie” Sharpe
5. Witco Desperadoes    Trini    Beverly Griffith/A Robley/Eddie Quarless
6. Starlift    In She Rainorama    Liam Teague
7. Caribbean Airlines Invaders    Doh Be On Dat    Arddin Herbert
8. PCS Silver Stars    It’s Showtime    Edwin Pouchet
9. Petrotrin Siparia Deltones    Trini    Carlton Alexander
10. RBC/RBTT Redemption Sound Setters    Showtime    Winston Gordon