The annual Mother’s Day Weekend Caribbean Concert in New York is scheduled for May 11 at Whitman Theater, Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College from 8pm. This year’s concert has a new producer, Everybody’s Magazine/Herman Hall Communications.
Stage manager Annette Nelson explained: “It is an innovative Mother’s Day Caribbean concert. Soca and calypso monarchs are in concert since all the artistes are monarchs, or placed high in competitions, such as Barbados Mikey Mercer, T&T’s Heather MacIntosh and Grenada’s Tallpree.”
Three women are on the bill, including the icon Calypso Rose, the first woman to win the two top calypso titles—Calypso Monarch and Road March; 2013 National Calypso Monarch runner-up Heather MacIntosh; and, 2013 Carriacou, Grenada Groovy Soca Monarch Jermaine Simon. Simon also emerged as first runner-up in the World Soca Monarch competition.
Also on the cast are Iwer George, Relator, Short Pants, and Yankey Boy. A consistent veteran T&T International Soca Monarch campaigner, Iwer George said: “This year, I am serenading all mothers at the concert.”
Mercer won four titles in the 2012 Barbados Crop Over Festival – Pick-O’ de Crop Tune (Road March); Groovy Soca Monarch; People’s Monarch; and Party Soca Monarch. Superstorm Sandy prevented Mercer from performing in New York last year so fans excited about his appearance in the Mother’s Day Saturday Concert.
The pride of Grenada, Tallpree is one of the Caribbean’s most popular artistes. The Mother’s Day Weekend Caribbean Concert is his first performance in New York since his performance at this year’s International Power Soca Monarch final.
Yankey Boy had a massive hit in 2012 with Rumours and is touring with Machel Montano and his band this summer. Perhaps Yankey Boy is walking in the footsteps of Machel Montano; it was the annual Mother’s Day Caribbean Concert in NY that introduced Montano on the world stage.
Short Pants, the veteran emcee, extempore and calypsonian is this year’s host and he will be joined by Lord Relator.
“Our objective is to make the Mother’s Day Saturday Concert a happy spectacle for mothers,” Hall said in a release.
“New talent is introduced and it is a showcase of today’s superstars, vintage artists and emerging stars. Everybody’s has a respected tradition of producing quality entertainment events.”
