Icom's Blog (777)

Two more Caribbean carnivals have succumbed to the bacchanal-eating virus that’s swept the world of most major cultural and sporting events this year.

In Grenada, Spicemas, which had been due to launch on Monday 2 May and run through to the climax on 11 August, is now officially off the calendar until 2021.

Spicemas Corporation said in a statement: “The size and…

Barbados canceled its annual Crop Over Festival, which was slated to kick off in June, one of many festivals and events across the Caribbean that are being canceled or postponed due to Covid-19.

A statement posted on the Caribbean Tourism Organization site called the decision "difficult," and it called the Crop Over Festival the island's "premier" arts and culture showcase, a two-month affair of craft…

Before the world has settled into its new normal, some entertainers have decided to carry on with business as usual, like aspiring all-rounder Brush1Chromatic. Last week, he released ' All A Wi' alongside 'Circa11', a brand new soca song to add to his growing, determinedly versatile catalogue. Interestingly, ' All A Wi' is tagged with 2021 - a confident proclamation that revellers will be ready for the road again by next…

Tribe and Machel Montano’s Melé cruise is still on for 2021.

However, the organisers say they will consult with patrons regarding a possible change in the date of the event which is scheduled for May 2021.

Rhiannon Pemberton, project manager for Melé, told Loop that a survey will be sent out to those who registered for the cruise to determine their comfort levels…

Prime Minister Mia Mottley has made a big promise to the children of the nation.

Known for her Crop Over event, the country's leader told her youngest citizens that she has a big gift for them when the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

Recognising that the curfew and the call for social distancing are not only taking a toll on adults and seniors, but also on the minors,…

With the Carnival Virgin Islands postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic, the popular St Thomas festival is going virtual.

That means you can bring the rhythm of one of the Caribbean’s hottest carnivals right into your home.

The US Virgin Islands Department of Tourism’s Division of Festival has launched what it’s calling “Home Wuk,” a series of online social…

Organizers of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival said in a statement this year’s events are being cancelled due to COVID-19.

“For the past 52 years, the Toronto Caribbean Carnival (formerly Caribana) has delivered an exciting summer festival featuring elaborate costumes, Caribbean music, and food in our Grand Parade. This festival is a labour of love created by our extraordinary talented artistic stakeholders,…

Denise Belfon’s 1998 release ‘Work’ is the song that keeps giving.

In 2002, the song earned Belfon a performance at the M.O.B.O awards in Miami where she won an award along with Masters of Work for the remix and in 2010, legendary EDM DJ David Guetta played a remix of the song before thousands at Tomorrowland.

Now, thanks to DJ Flex, an American with Ghanian…

Carnival in Jamaica may be down but it’s certainly not out.

Given the recent COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent cancellation of our social lives and every event possible, Campari is giving Carnival in Jamaica a tune-up on Sunday, albeit via live stream. Here’s why…

Campari is known locally and regionally for the association of its easy-mix cocktails perfect for…

When Lyrikal entertained thousands via his first virtual live concert on Thursday night, he did so with a heavy heart and mind.

While he was providing cheer to those of us stuck at home, he couldn’t stop thinking about his friends in New York who contracted the coronavirus, one of them who has been hospitalised.

“Thursday morning when I got up, I call a brethren…

Saint Lucia is the latest country to announce that its carnival has fallen victim to the coronavirus, Covid-19.

The carnival, scheduled for Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 July this year, has been postponed until July 2021, according to a statement released on Friday 27 March 2020 by the Government of Saint Lucia.

The statement explained that holding the carnival would…

The rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 is making headlines across the globe and leading to numerous postponements, cancellations and bans.

Cases of the novel virus are being discovered in new countries almost daily.  On Wednesday (March 11), the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a global pandemic, with approximately 118,000 cases in 114 countries and near 4,300 deaths.…

For many Caribbean islands where tourism is the primary revenue earner, the coronavirus-sparked ban on large gatherings as well as airline and cruise travel has brought widespread postponements and cancellations to the region's spring/summer music festival season. From the Bahamas chain just below Florida's southern tip to Trinidad and Tobago, many Caribbean islands utilize music festivals to attract visitors to their shores, especially during the…

The Arts Council of England (ACE), which for many years has been an important funder of Carnival, has published its strategy for the next 10 years.

The glossy 68-page document, Let’s Create, has been described as “verbose, repetitive and somewhat vague”. Nevertheless, because it is going to be the framework for arts funding until 2030, it is essential reading for anyone involved in making grant…

Studying Carnival arts will never be the same again. Research will be so much easier after a new academic journal dedicated to the subject has launched later this year.

The International Journal of Carnival Arts (IJCA) represents a new approach to writing about and recording our core Carnival artforms – steelpan, calypso and mas.

The IJCA is not intended to be a…

Many of the entertainment industry’s biggest and most anticipated events continue to suffer indefinitely in the wake of the COVID-19 scare. Will it take a long term toll on music artists’ careers?

This tragic development for the music industry with cancellations and postponements of events being at a record high, means less income for the industry on a whole, especially the subset of low skilled workers of…

The coronavirus pandemic has prompted carnival organisers around the world to reschedule or cancel, but organisers in London are determined to hold Notting Hill Carnival on Sunday 30 and Monday 31 August 2020, as planned.

In a letter sent yesterday to some (but not all) mas bands, Notting Hill Carnival Limited (NHCL) assured band leaders: “We are doing everything we possibly can to continue to plan for a…

There is no specific season or reason for soca music, said Erphaan Alves, who has been pushing the ‘No Seasons’ campaign that promotes the release of soca music all year round. A true ambassador of the genre of his birthplace, Trinidad and Tobago, Alves told The Gleaner that he wants to change the way soca is perceived.

“Over the years, soc, has been stigmatised as carnival music – about the…

The calendar for March, April and May was jam-packed with band launches for this year’s Notting Hill Carnival, scheduled to be held on the August bank holiday Sunday 30 and Monday 31 August.

However, coronavirus (COVID-19) has caused all these band launches to be either postponed or cancelled.

It is uncertain whether any of these band launches will go ahead, or…

You’ve probably seen the photos from Trinidad’s Carnival by now and regret not making your way over to the Caribbean island to bust a little wine. And if you’re a carnival veteran, you’re already experiencing “ah tabanca” (the longing to return). Lucky for you, even though Jamaica cancelled it’s Carnival celebration slated for next month due to Coronavirus, there are plenty of carnivals left in 2020 to get on bad. From Miami to Jamaica, and yes, even…