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Calypso tents have not been without challenges in recent times. Years of discussion around funding, lack of public patronage and criticisms of sameness have plagued the tents.
Tent managers have been working to restructure the product and said there are changes reflecting that this year.
Manager of Kalypso Revue Michael “Sugar Aloes” Osuna said there is a list of young performers on its cast this year. Baron and Trinidad Rio are among the veteran members while Gillian Moor and Keishea Stewart are among the new additions to the cast.
“We wanted to bring a little difference in the programme this year and not running down the political genre of the thing,” he said.
[caption id="attachment_1054341" align="alignnone" width="683"] Sugar Aloes -[/caption]
Sugar Aloes said the tent also intended to strictly stick to its 8 pm start time to “give patrons ample time to reach home safe.”
The price stays at $150, he added.
While the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation (TUCO) hoped last year an injection of more humorous/party calypsoes would draw people back to the tents, Sugar Aloes said his cast did not necessarily do up-tempo songs.
Strong lyrical content and social commentary blended with a danceable melody are what he plans to offer.
“The younger people I include have that kind of material.”
For Sugar Aloes, sometimes, up-tempo songs were nonsensical and he was not going for that.
“I am trying to introduce younger people, get them in the tent and understand what it is about. We have some beautiful music for the season,” he said.
There are 23 performers in his cast with half of them being women.
[caption id="attachment_1054339" align="alignnone" width="713"] Victoria "Queen Victoria" Cooper-Rahim - Ayanna Kinsale[/caption]
“Women place their foot in that niche and decide, ‘Okay, we want to do something this year,’” he said.
Sugar Aloes said it was a deliberate choice as, “some of the guys have nonsense.”
He said one of his artistes had an excellent example of double entendre; something he felt had been missing from tents for a while. The song made people laugh and that was one way of drawing people back to tents, he added.
There was another performer called the Indian Rex West (a tribute to calypsonian Rex West known for his offbeat dancing and vocals).
“He out of timing but he go make you laugh. That is what you want, a little nostalgia, a little humour in the tent,” he said.
[caption id="attachment_1054340" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Karene Asche - JEFF K. MAYERS[/caption]
With respect to funding, Sugar Aloes was still hoping. However, he had some savings which he used to “start the thing.”
Kalypso Revue will have a grand opening on Friday 19 at the Arima Velodrome. The tent will be based at the SWWTU Hall, Wrightson Road, Port of Spain.
“We are the Revue. We have not lost our taste. Right now, it is the oldest running tent…” he said.
The Back to Basics tent –formerly headed by Winston “Gypsy” Peters – will not be operating this year.
[caption id="attachment_1054342" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Winston "Gypsy" Peters -[/caption]
Gypsy said while he is not managing a tent, he is still a calypsonian and will be a part of Kaiso House, based at Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain.
Tents were expensive to run, he said.
“For the two years I did it, I did not make any money really. A business usually takes two-three years before it starts making any money. Just as I was expecting to get a return on my investment, the covid19 pandemic hit.
“And I am not about to put no $1 million into a calypso tent to start over again.”
Gypsy said his tent was independently run and he received no funding.
But a successful tent required performers with good calypsoes and variety, he said.
[caption id="attachment_1054336" align="alignnone" width="675"] Keishea Stewart - AYANNA KINSALE[/caption]
“A calypso tent cannot be run on only people singing about politics or songs that take them to the Savannah. Where is the entertainment value?”
He said tents were like political parties as many singers sang about the Prime Minister or Opposition Leader.
Artistes had to be more creative with the advent of social media, Gypsy said.
While tents can be serious, there needed to be entertainment value for them to be profitable, he said.
[caption id="attachment_1054338" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Duane Ta'zyah O'Connor - JEFF K. MAYERS[/caption]
“Tents are lacking variety, they are lacking depth of performance, if they correct that, there will be something different.”
This year, Gypsy has a song called Ungrateful (Your mother can’t believe) and said it was about a real person whose mother took a lot of care to take care of the child but the child grew up to be ungrateful to its mother.
TUCO-run tents – Kaiso Showkase, Kaiso Karavan, Klassic Ruso and Kaiso House – also adjusted along price and time to be more appealing to audiences. Kaiso House will feature veteran performers like Brother Valentino and Mudada. The reigning national monarch Ta'zyah O'Connor along with his father, Duane, will also be on its cast as well former monarch Karene Asche.
At Klassic Ruso based at City Hall, Port of Spain, All Rounder, Contender and Mark Eastman are on its cast.
Klassic Karavan at La Joya Auditorium, St Joseph, will feature Johnny King, Cardinal and Bally, while Snakey and Victoria "Queen Victoria" Cooper-Rahim will be among cast members at Kaiso Showkase at Palms Club, San Fernando.
[caption id="attachment_1003411" align="alignnone" width="819"] Gillian Moor[/caption]
TUCO’s marketing manager Devon Seale said the organisation was taking greater care to ensure that programming was more entertaining.
Seale, however, was clear to state that doing this was a process and did not happen immediately.
“Gradually, we are getting there. They have all made an attempt to make their programming more entertaining.”
Each tent has a cast of about 25 but not all 25 would perform nightly, Seale said.
The cast will also be going out to different institutions and having special nights to generate interest, he added.
There is also going to be pricing specials like two-for-one to encourage patronage.
E-ticketing and surprise guest artistes were also tools being used to draw people to the tents.
[caption id="attachment_996336" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Devon Seale -[/caption]
“Before you would have gone to a tent for five hours that no longer happens, it is no longer sustainable to have a show for five hours,” Seale said.
He said all tent managers were looking at that and now hoping to have shows for approximately two-and-half hours. The shows should not go over three hours, he added.
With respect to funding, while the tents could always have more, they make the most of what they have especially when there are now limited resources.
Seale said they hope to encourage a younger audience through social media.
He said a lot of calypsonians have come forward with material during recently held auditions. He hoped creative and new material would translate into greater attendance at the tents.
Opening dates for tents:
January 7: Magnificent Glow, Buccoo Beach Resort, Tobago
January 12: Kaiso Showkase, Palms Club, San Fernando
January 12: Icons, To be determined
January 13: Kaiso Karavan, La Joya Auditorium, St Joseph
January 17: Divas Calypso Cabaret International, To be determined
January 17: Klassic Ruso, City Hall, Port of Spain
January 18: Kaiso House, Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain
January 19: Generation Next, To be determined
January 19: Kalypso Revue, SWWTU Hall, Port of Spain
 
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