By:St. Clair Sazam Hull
Nevispages.com
(Charlestown Nevis)- The ‘Legends of Calypso Concert’ which was staged at the Cultural Complex in Charlestown on Wednesday, July 27, 2016 was of an extremely high standard.
This view was expressed by many of the persons in attendance and by calypso pundits across the land. Many were of the perspective, that it was one of the greatest shows to be held in Nevis.The performances delivered by all the artists were breathtaking and nothing short of phenomenal.
King Meeko got the crowd going with his entrance song ‘Ley Ley’. He also did what is dubbed the ‘Local Anthem’ Nevis Nice and finished with ‘Love we Festival’. The attendees were aroused by his performances and by the time he was through with the final tune the audience gave him a rousing applause.
The show moved on with the man from Montserrat the Mighty Hero. Hero is the brother of the late Soca icon, King Arrow and is responsible for writing Arrow’s biggest hit, ‘Hot Hot Hot’. He told those gathered that before there were soca artists such as Machel Montana, Montserrat was where the real soca was. His song ‘Sugar Bom Bom’ gave the audience a nice groove then ‘Hot Hot, Hot’ sent them into frenzy.
Reigning Antigua and Leeward Island Monarch De Bear was next on stage. He started with a song called, ‘Man is nothing but dust’. However, his most exciting performance was when he performed a song called, ‘Melee’. He summoned the MC onto the stage and ordered him to open a bag he had on his back. Earlier, someone had asked the MC what was in his bag and he said, “It’s filled with Melee”.
The MC handed De Bear a few sheets of paper that he said contained the entire ‘Melee’. The MC said he did not want anybody to be mad with him because this so called Melee came from King Meeko and De Bear. The crowd erupted with every line and even called him back for more melee.
Following De Bear, was the man who hailed from the land of calypso the Mighty Baron. His baritone voice which is known to be one of the best in the business, captivated the crowd.
One of the Caribbean’s most popular artists, David Rudder also presented some great performances. His opening act, ‘Calypso’ set the tone and was followed by the West Indies Cricket Anthem, ‘Rally Round the West Indies’. He also performed songs such as, ‘Hammer’ and ‘Dust in dey Face’.
The King Swallow from Antigua, brought the curtains down with hits such as ‘Subway Jam’, ‘Party in Space’ and ‘Fire in she backseat’. He also had high praises for Grand Masters Band who he said he had no rehearsals with.