Memories of Crop Over, folk songs of yesteryear along with contemporary and classic tunes soothed music lovers who got a little bit of everything during Friday night’s National Independence Festivals of Creative Arts (NIFCA) Performing Arts Semi-finals at Combermere School.
It was strictly music entries during the fourth show and what a treat it was as soloists, duos, and choirs did their best to secure a place in the finals performing calypso, instrumentals, folk, soca, rap, and contemporary and classic R&B songs that were on a chart or two when released decades ago.
Among the outstanding soloists were 2024 NIFCA gold awardee Skyy Dowridge who wowed the audience with her renditions of Ch’an’s Runaway and Impossible Dream performed through the years by various singers. Another was Chelsea
Ellis who sang And I Am Telling You originally performed by Jennifer Halliday with conviction.
Antoine Winter’s fervent delivery of Have a Baby With Me elicited screams from some females in the audience which wasn’t surprising, as he performed this Daniel Caesar song as though it was his. He also sang an original song My Letters To You in the second half.
Remarkable rendition
Jaliah Thompson’s rendition of One Night Only was remarkable, as was Chelsi Yearwood’s delivery of Way Of Love. Kenaz Walker’s performance of Mighty Gabby’s 1979 classic Emmerton was good and so was Tarique Griffith’s as he sang his original ballad You’re Enough.
Graydon Sealy Secondary School Choir was so good. Directed by teacher Stephanie Chase, they sang negro spiritual Wade In The Water which seems to be a popular choice this year among the
dance competitors, in the first half. In the second half they thrilled the audience with De Struggle, Uh Bajan Folk Medley, an original arrangement of folk songs, and contemporary socas from Trinidad and Barbados that blended well with Bajan proverbs that made for a humourous and fun story of love, good old Bajan maliciousness and prowess.
The St Giles Primary School Choir comprising girls and boys whose delightfully sweet voices expounded the beauty of Barbados in This Is My Homeland was the other choir facing the judges.
The sole instrumentalists in this semi-final were Keric Roach who played Hallelujah on the viola in the first half. He returned with his cello playing brother, Keaton, under the sobriquet The Roach Brothers in the second half, to deliver an intense and spirited rendition of He’s a Pirate from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
Memories of Crop Over 2025 were awakened owing to performances from Tatianna Grandison and Demario Foster, both Scotiabank Junior Calypso Monarch Finalists. They sang Mental Illness and Voices of Change, respectively, which earned them a place at the event held in July.
Khalijah Kellman also contributed to the Crop Over memories with a solid rendition of TC’s 2014 calypso Who Is To Blame? as did Donnia King who sang an original calypso tilted Don’t Be In A Rush and Alicia Alleyne who sang One People, One Nation, one of the winning calypsos performed by 2016 Pic O De Monarch Aziza. She also sang Etta James’s classic At Last. Clé Woods, who closed the show, brought the party vibes with his 2025 soca Party Nice.
The other singing soloists were Deon Maynard whose original song in the rap genre Thank God He Made You was “for Rihanna” and highlighted some of her achievements, Dacia Moore ( The Clock made popular in Barbados by Carlyn Leacock and Come On In Out Of The
Rain), ZZ Cumberbatch ( Stay Strong
and My Way), Alexandria Colucci ( Grace), and Ashlee King who did an original song titled Him, Her, Me.
Most of the contestants were backed by a sevenmember band of musicians led by Dwight Callender. The engaging, effervescent and humourous Paula Ann Jackman was the MC.
It is interesting to note that some of the NIFCA semifinalists are also competing in the Richard Stoute Teen Talent and Over-21 shows slated for later this month.
The sixth and final NIFCA Performing Arts Semifinal takes place tonight. (GBM)
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