The Calypsonians, 2020
Between February 09 at 8:30 am and February 22 at 10:32 pm, I photographed calypsonians backstage at six calypso tents during Carnival 2020.
I’d hoped to photograph all the tents during the season, but that proved to be difficult. Many tents only performed sporadically. Tent managers weren’t reachable and when they were, proved difficult to persuade.
Presented here are the 107 calypsonians who agreed to be photographed for the project. Right from the start, I’d hoped to bring all the artistes into a single virtual room, photographing with the same equipment in the same style.
Backstage at a calypso tent is a challenging space to photograph in in 2020, but the good humour and passion of the performers transcends their circumstances and reaches back to a grand tradition more than a century old.
The images were first presented on Instagram in postings of three and can also be found there.
On January 28, 2021, Klassic Ruso calypsonians performing a streamed concert at Wack 90.1 FM were added to the portfolio.
On January 14, 2022, three new calypsonians performing at a streamed concert at Wack 90.1 FM were added to the portfolio along with two updated photos of calypsonians previously photographed.
On February 17, 2022, at a safe-zone concert at Queen’s Hall, 13 new calypsonians were added to the portfolio along with one updated photo of a previously photographed calypsonian.
On February 15 2023 on a return visit to the Kaiso House calypso tent, six new calypsonians were added the portfolio along with updtated photographs of 12 calypsonians. At the Barrack Yard Tent Experience on February 24, 2023, five new calypsonians were added to the portfolio.
