With no Calypso Tent for the second year running, fans of lyrical ingenuity have had to rely on monthly injections of Kaiso Lime during the summer. The much-loved annual calypso competition is still mired in disputatious intransigence between calypsonians’ organisation ACASA and Carnival Village Trust, so Talk Yuh Talk’s Kaiso Lime series has been a lifeline for both performers and audiences.
On Saturday 9 August, evergreen veteran Tobago Crusoe started us off with another selection of mischievously ingenious calypsos, before four-time UK Calypso Monarch Sheldon Skeete, aka Calypso Don, brought us Lord Nelson’s classic – and still very entertaining – King Liar. By way of contrast, the Don’s new song, Look at Mango, was a sweet and delicious taste of soca. The audience were also treated to a preview of another contender for the 2026 Carnival season, De Width, from Pae3ot.
After a reprise by Tobago Crusoe, the audience – which had roused itself from its earlier torpor and was becoming noticeably enthusiastic – was introduced to a new entrant on the scene, Jeremy Adams. Well, not that new: he’s been singing calypso and parang since the age of seven!
And finally… the fireworks. Sparks were surely flying from the pan of Justin ‘Redz’ Richardson as he entranced the audience with his music. More than one member of the audience uttered the word ‘genius’.
As ever, our Soca Massive and DJ Fats kept us entertained in between the live sets and Smokey Joe acted as MC. At the start of the session, he interviewed a visitor from Australia: Trinidad-born panman and calypsonian Alvin Rostant. After touring extensively with Amral’s Trinidad Cavaliers Steel Orchestra, Alvin settled in Australia in 1974 and many years later set up Rivercity Steelband. However, he lamented the way the Australian steelpan scene suffered after the Covid pandemic, with the number of bands plummeting.
It was a reminder that we should be grateful for what we have in the UK and never to take our music – calypso, soca and steelpan – for granted. If we think the culture is worth preserving, then we should be prepared to fight for it.
The final two Kaiso Limes are on Saturday 13 September (a night dedicated to female performers) and 11 October. Both events are free and take place in the bar area on the ground floor of The Tabernacle, 35 Powis Square, London W11 2AY. There’s the added appeal of the Tab’s excellent Caribbean food. If you haven’t yet experienced a Lime night, you still have time – put those dates in your calendar now.
