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1 week ago | 
trinidadexpress.com | Michael Mondezie
With 17 parties and 161 candidates in the race, the 2025 General Election is shaping up to be one of Trinidad and Tobago’s most closely contested. But on islands where rhythm is religion and melody moves the masses, music has emerged as one of the most potent campaign tools of the past two election cycles. From soca to dancehall to chutney, political parties are remixing the campaign trail with full-blown soundtracks.
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1 week ago | 
trinidadexpress.com | Michael Mondezie
Veteran vocalist Charmaine Forde delivered one of the evening’s most memorable moments when she transposed two of Carnival 2025’s biggest groovy soca hits—Kees Dieffenthaller’s “Cocoa Tea” and Yung Bredda’s “The Greatest Bend Over”—into sultry jazz standards, last Saturday, at Jazz Artists on the Greens (JAOTG). With vocal precision and a stage presence that lifted the large crowd from their white garden chairs, Forde proved that the boundary between soca and jazz is delightfully porous.
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2 weeks ago | 
trinidadexpress.com | Michael Mondezie
Musician and cultural thinker Sharda Patasar will lead a groundbreaking project titled Sounding the Caribbean Ecosystem: Women and Music, which uses sound as a gateway for young women in Trinidad and Jamaica to explore identity, creativity and collaboration. The initiative will see participants between ages 16 to 18 work together in cross-country teams to compose, produce, and present original musical works.
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2 weeks ago | 
trinidadexpress.com | Michael Mondezie
“The rum tun me to a dancer”. That phrase might’ve started as a joke between friends, but once Klassik Frescobar turned it into a hook, it became a certified soca anthem. With his hit song “Dansa,” the Jamaican-born, Miami-based entertainer has underlined soca music’s widening global reach proving the evolving genre is wide enough, rich enough, and loud enough to welcome voices from across the diaspora.
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2 weeks ago | 
trinidadexpress.com | Michael Mondezie
In a remarkable testament to their enduring appeal and the global resonance of soca music, T&T’s own Kes the Band has achieved a historic milestone. The internationally celebrated fete-starters, led by charismatic frontman Kees Dieffenthaller, has become the first soca act to sell out two consecutive SummerStage concerts at New York City’s Central Park.
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2 weeks ago | 
trinidadexpress.com | Michael Mondezie
If you know the name Flippo, you likely remember the raspy, melodic hook of “Doh Tell Meh Dat” ricocheting off fete walls and speaker boxes in 2013. But there’s far more to the man born Seumas Keelan Callender than a single soca moment. Now re-emerged as Azaryah, the Maracas, St Joseph native has taken up residence behind the boards—writing, producing, and curating songs for some of the biggest names in Caribbean music. His fingerprints are everywhere, even when his name isn’t.
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3 weeks ago | 
trinidadexpress.com | Michael Mondezie
When Jazz Artists on the Greens (JAOTG) first planted its roots back in 2003 at The UWI Creative Arts Centre, few could have imagined the scale and sonic success it would blossom into two decades later. Tomorrow, the WASA Grounds in St Joseph will come alive with more than just smooth grooves and sultry solos—it will mark the 20th anniversary of T&T’s most enduring jazz festival. The theme for this year is simple but potent: The Evolution.
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3 weeks ago | 
trinidadexpress.com | Michael Mondezie
The steelpan sang a silent solo Wednesday morning—clear, resonant, and full of pride—as the Trinidad Express Youth of the Year Award was announced in Joshua Regrello’s name. He wasn’t there in person. A prior commitment meant the popular pannist couldn’t collect the award himself, but his mother, Kamla Regrello, stood tall in his place, flanked by his grandmother Jackie Koon How. Their presence said everything.
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3 weeks ago | 
trinidadexpress.com | Michael Mondezie
IN a dance ecosystem often defined by fleeting trends and familiar formulas, Metamorphosis Dance Company has remained committed to evolution. True to its name, the company continues to develop and deliver a new generation of talent, while providing a home for more seasoned artistes to refine and challenge their craft.
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3 weeks ago | 
trinidadexpress.com | Michael Mondezie
Lani K” (Jalani Kojo) has always used music to process his pain, express his truth, and challenge convention. But his newest release, the gospel track “Shout to the Lord”, marks a spiritual and sonic turning point in the singer’s life. The single comes after a five-year absence from the stage—a hiatus that followed what many assumed was his upward rise in calypso. In 2020, he placed third in the Young Kings Calypso Monarch competition and advanced to the Calypso Monarch semi-final round.
