St. Maarten Soca Chutney Fest, brought to you by D&N Production, will be taking place under the tent at Port de Plaisance this Saturday, June 29. While this is the second edition of the Soca Chutney Fest, D&N Production goes back four years and counting, bringing you the hottest dancing parties.
What is Chutney Soca?
In Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Jamaica and Suriname, Chutney Soca music is a crossover style of soca and calypso elements and English, Hindustani, Bhojpuri and Hinglish lyrics, chutney music, with Western instruments (such as the guitar, piano, drum set), and Indian instruments (such as the dholak, harmonium, tabla and dhantal).
The term Chutney Soca was first coined by Drupatee Ramgoonai of Trinidad and Tobago in 1987 in her first album entitled Chutney Soca, with a mix of Trinidadian English and Trinidadian Hindustani versions of the songs. The current style of spelling of the term was not established then and she spelt it as “Chatnee Soca”. The following year, her mega-hit “Roll up de Tassa” was instrumental in creating a commercial market for this type of music internationally.
Drupatee has spoken about the blending of Afro and Indo melodies and rhythms in songs such as “Chatnee Soca” and “Hotter than ah Chulha”. Chutney is a melody and soca is a beat. Drupatee used an ancient Indian melody called a lawnee with the soca beat in her rendition of “O Tassawalley” and has released a legacy of chutney soca music.
What can you expect for this second edition?
Guyana, Trinidad and Suriname are synonymous with delicious (spicy) food. There will be curried chicken, duck and goat, roti, fried rice, fish cakes, egg ball, soup, chana, pholourie and chicken foot – all provided by Honey’s kitchen. The Johnny Caker will also be present serving up her mouth-watering delicacies, Domino’s Pizza will be joining the Soca Chutney fun, and Johnnie Walker and Carib Beer will be right there to wash down this delicious goodness. When you are not eating or drinking, the bands will keep you on your feet with their sweet sounds!
The line-up comprises the heavy hitters on the Soca Chutney scene, Ki and the band, Neval Chatelal, Sarika Mahabir, DJ Shawn, Alanna White, Steven Ramphal, Thalita/D’ Originals, and the event will be hosted by New York based stand-up comedian Ayanna Dookie, along with Jason Nandoo.
Tickets are available at WE Lounge in Maho, General Auto Repairs in Cole Bay, Kenny’s Korner on Illidge Road, Roxxy Corner, Simpson Bay Fish Market. Tickets are $35 in advance and $50 at the gate, so get your tickets in advance!!
This event is made possible by a lot of great people and companies: General Auto Repair, CoolTec NV, Print and Sign Express, The Wizards, Caribbean Boat Charters, FKG, MNA Auto Parts, Semple’s, Keijzer, WE Lounge, Pineapple Pete/Wasabi Charlie, Motorworld, Caribbean Auto, Johnnie Walker and Carib, distributed by ILTT.
The party starts at 8:00pm sharp. Be on time!!
