This year makes it 30 years since the calypsonian formerly known as Austin “Blue Boy” Lyons won the inaugural Soca Monarch competition with Bacchanal Time.
The competition was the main platform on which Superblue, as he is now known, built a solid musical dynasty with his daughter, Fay-Ann Lyons, who won the title in 2009, and son-in-law Bunji Garlin, the 2008 title holder.
Yet, the Lyons family members are only part of the huge cast of soca’s biggest stars to have graced the Soca Monarch stage. That impressive list also includes Machel Montano, Shurwayne Winchester, Kes, Mr Killa, Biggie Irie, Voice, Ronnie McIntosh and Iwer George, to name a few.
That kind of star power should have been sufficient to establish the competition as one of the enduring brands, as well as a must-attend event, of T&T Carnival.
This should have been the year to commemorate the competition’s evolution of the International Soca Monarch (ISM) into the signature event of Carnival Friday.
But instead of growth and success, all the conversations about ISM this Carnival are about its slow death and the cancellation of the 2023 edition.
What was once the main draw on Fantastic Friday—a masterful rebranding of the first day of the Carnival weekend—has been struggling to attract the biggest soca stars or sufficient support from corporate sponsors for financial viability. The fans are also dwindling.
ISM’s impending demise cannot be blamed on a lack of state funding, which is not a realistic expectation for a privately-run event, nor can it be pinned on another major show scheduled for the same day.
The difficult truth that needs to be faced by Caribbean Prestige Foundation for the Performing Arts (CPF) directors Geoffrey Wharton-Lake and Ricky Ragoonanan, is that ISM in its current form isn’t living up to its potential, or its aspiration to be a world-class event.
The place once occupied by that competition on the Carnival calendar has been overtaken by other shows more effectively marketed and staged by soca stars who once enjoyed top ISM billing.
However, it would be a major loss if ISM is left to completely fade away. The potential of the event and the brand extends well beyond Carnival Friday in T&T. An event that is international in scope and which has spawned similar competitions across the Caribbean should be revitalised.
The challenge is to find the people capable of resuscitating the dream brought to life by businessman and cultural patron William Munro back in 1993. It filled a void then and still can with input from industry professionals with the right mix of skills and experience.
It remains to be seen whether Mr Wharton-Lake and Mr Ragoonanan have what it takes to advance the mission of CPF to develop the soca industry, nurture young talent and promote the genre on the international stage.
Hopefully, it is not too late but CPF doesn’t have the luxury of time, given the highly competitive nature of the industry. More than a year of dormancy could be the death knell of ISM.
Work must, however, begin now on initiatives for the revival, longevity and growth of the competition.