Courtesy Overtime Media
XVibes takes you inside the engine of the National Instrument this weekend, as the race toward Panorama 2025 begins in earnest. Last year’s joint champions, bp Renegades and Massy All Stars are already eyeing a rematch, but only Renegades has officially announced their selection of Machel Montano’s “Beat Meh”, and the band members were already rehearsing furiously this past week.
When the Xvibes team Jermaine Cruickshank and Overtime media and Robert Taylor visited the pan yard and spoke with the bands President and Manager Colin Greaves, as he directed us to the youths that was present and already in full practice mode, focused on getting their notes right. They are a very disciplined bunch and was excited that the Express Xvibes had chosen to finally visit and focus on them as they try their best in making their contribution to the nation on its National instrument. Greaves also stated that the band had recently completed a successful tour of Germany last August, playing before thousands of pan loving fans. With the involvement of the youths the bands legacy is well secured as they also plan to make their mark once more for Panorama 2025.
Many of the other large steel bands have chosen their songs and begun nightly rehearsals, so we ventured into a couple of yards to speak with the next generation of musicians. These youngsters are all juggling school work, hobbies and other commitments, whilst preparing to bring the vibes live on stage at the Panorama Semi Finals scheduled for Sunday February 16 at the Queen’s Park Savannah. Before that, the Junior Band preliminary round begins on January 24, with the Junior Finals set for February 2 and the large band prelims commencing on February 4 in pan yards across the country.
SHELL INVADERS
We asked young pannists from Shell Invaders and Phase II Pan Groove about their love of, experiences in and commitment to the steel pan:
Brandon Ramdoo, 16, Diego Martin:
“There was a camp and my uncle wanted me to play pan, so I came and learnt how to hold the sticks and play a few notes. That was about 3 years ago and I enjoyed it, so I came back every year. It’s fun and I enjoy being on the stage and being part of the team. I play tenor, but I can also play cello and double seconds. I just like playing so I’m learning as much as I can.
Shaniqua Nurse, 17, Bon Air Gardens:
“I know that’s far from here, but at the point in time I was staying in Diego Martin and I’m only on Bon Air for convenience because I go to school in the east. I joined this band in August 2022 through a friend, who was the ex-captain of the Junior Band, Omari Gordon. I played pan on and off in primary school, but I really love it. Nobody had to convince me to come, I came on my own and my dad is very supportive of me as well. The first time I played for Panorama I was very nervous to be honest, but eventually I got over it and obviously I’m still here – I come back year after year and my skills improve, I meet new people and its overall a nice experience. I play double seconds and cello with my school and I’m trying to learn the cuatro with my parang band also. I started learning the drum set but the person who was teaching me got covid and I never saw him again, so that didn’t really progress. I’m looking forward to win this year because Invaders has been in existence since 1940 if I’m not mistaken and never taken the title, so I feel like a win will be a nice thank you to all our supporters and we will be able to brag about it for once!
Carisse Jeremie, 24, Belmont:
“I’ve been playing pan since I was about 5 years old and I wanted to join a band. I waited awhile and then my parents told me about Invaders and brought me here when I was in Form 6 and I’ve been here ever since. The feeling of playing for Panorama is unreal. To be on stage in front of all those people doing something you love is a really special feeling cause you get to show your passion for playing pan to others, who also appreciate the instrument. I actually took a five-year break cause I went to study medicine, but I got my degree and came back and this is my first year back so I’m looking forward to experiencing Panorama and Carnival. I am happy and excited about the change to the coat of arms because I always wondered how they had the national birds there, but not the instrument, so I’m looking forward to seeing it represented finally.
Jabari Thomas , 22, Belmont:
I actually started playing pan 11 years ago because a friend of mine from Woodbrook Sec wanted me to accompany her and I was trying to avoid it all costs, but my mom encouraged me and I fell in love with it and the culture of the youth band made me feel welcome and gave me a sense of accomplishment. Eventually, I joined the large band and I play double seconds, but I do like the cello pan also and I have tried the tenor pan once or twice, but it doesn’t really fit me cause I don’t like staying in one place. For Panorama, I’ve had some up and down experiences because everyone goes for the win and when you don’t win sometimes it hurts cause you put so much energy , so much vibes, so much work and then if you fall short, it hurts. I will say that you learn different things about yourself during the Panorama season and I have definitely gotten a serious sense of discipline and patience also from playing pan. To get certain runs and sequences takes time so you have to the discipline to do it over and over and have the patience to understand that it takes some time to get it down, but once you get it: you feel pretty good – at least I do !
PHASE II PAN GROOVE
In the Phase II Yard it was all about the younger players practicing and getting the hang of their chosen song, so we didn’t interrupt them too much and just let them speak about themselves and their love for pan as you will see in the all-new VIDEO section of our XVibes portal into Entertainment:
Aliyah De Souza is 17 hails from Cocorite and has been playing with Phase II Pan Groove for two years. Samantha Ward is 16 and has been playing pan her whole life, but with Phase II for three years. Akiya Cuffy is 17, lives in St James and has been playing with Phase II since 2018. Eden Hunt is 16, playing pan her whole life and with Phase II since 2018. Nathan Hunt is 19 from Diego Martin and started playing about a year now. Teana Owen is 17 from Diego Martin and also joined the band just a year ago. Jade, 14, from Port of Spain has been playing pan since she was 5 years old, but this is her first time playing for Phase II. Ajai Cuffy is 15, hails from Bournes Road and has been playing for nine years. Meanwhile, newcomer, Jamel James is just 16, lives in Petit Valley and has only been playing tenor bass with Phase II since last Saturday.
A cross section of the audience at one of bp Renegades concerts in Eutin, Germany, August 2024 as part of the
Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival 2024.
