At 78 years young and turning 79 on April 27, Calypso Rose has become Coachella’s oldest performer.
Rose, whose real name is Linda McCartha Monica Sandy-Lewis, performed both weekends of the music festival on April 12 and April 19 on the Gobi Stage.
Not only is she the eldest performer, she is the first calypsonian to be booked for a full set at Coachella, according to Billboard.
Hailing from Tobago, Trinidad’s twin island, Rose was born on April 27, 1940. She made her first song at age 15 called “Glass Theif,” after she says she saw a man steal a pair of glasses from a woman.
She is well-known for breaking down barriers for women in calypso and soca music— often singing about topics like domestic violence, harassment and women’s rights. “They have done so much injustice to me, but that didn’t keep me down. I wanted to do what I want to do,” Rose said in an interview with Coachella.
