COLE BAY--It was a night of sweet calypso and road march music under the white tent at Port de Plaisance on Saturday evening. Kaiso Brat came out on top with 257 points for a creative song called “Dung in we Garden.”
Calypso singers Baker Jr, Mighty Pepper, Shakiya, Lady Baker, Lady Upsetter, Empress Zee, The Wizard, Mighty Barrow and D’Monitor also moved on to the finals.
St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) organised the event and was satisfied with the large turnout of patrons. Master of Ceremonies Fernando Clark brought down the house with his comical insight and was not afraid to talk politics and social issues.
Newcomer Lady Upsetter did not upset with her song “Come Straight.” She pronounced her words clearly for judges and audience members to hear. What is calypso without a bit of controversy?
Former Calypso King Young Carlix The Protégé did not make it to the finals even though he was a crowd favourite. He presented a song called “Nothing Lasts Forever” and performed the lyrics with sophistication. At the end judges did not reward him for his hard work.
Surprise of the night was the electric and humorous performance by The Mighty Pepper with the song “Ants Nest.” While it is tough to describe what the song is about, the audience seemed to be well amused by the artiste’s antics.
Focus now is on the showdown between these calypso artistes who move on as they go up against reigning King Fish da Mega Boss at Carnival Village on Monday, April 25.
The Road March competition saw participants trying to dethrone last year’s winner The Messenger. However, the young man seemed to be the judges’ favourite and retained his crown as the overall winner in the competition.
Messenger told The Daily Herald after the win that he was looking forward to Carnival 2016. He thanked all the fans for their support and said he would be performing for several events related to Carnival.
Both events are sponsored by NAGICO, which has been the main corporate sponsor of these events for almost a decade.
SCDF and NAGICO made a plan prior to the show to devote more resources to marketing the events. In the coming weeks the public will see and hear much more about the finals and the individual singers.
