Summer Carnival season is here!

Islandistas, can you feel it?

The summer carnival season is ready to get going!

In fact, in St. Vincent and St. Lucia, whose carnivals fall on July 6-7 and July 20-21 respectively, the Carnival season is already starting to buzz.









Just For Fun, Toxik, Red Unlimited and Royalites are among the bands that have launched.

In fact, even in Antigua, where Carnival is not until August 3rd - the same day as Kadooment Day in Barbados, the band Myst launched since the end of April. 

 

 I like it - early launch, dat we seh! The artistes have been bringing out their music earlier and earlier every year - it is about time for the band leaders to start doing the same!

At least one band in Barbados has taken the hint and has already launched - Ravurz launched their band, seen below, this week.

 Errmmm... not too sure about all of the fake flowers - flowers just never do it for me on a costume  but the costume at the far right looks nice.

Anyhow, bands up up north have also been launching -Bacchanal Mas for London's Notting Hill Carnival is one and several bands for Toronto's Caribana have also launched.

This costume, 'Birds of a Feather' is from Tribal Nights and I lurrrrrrrrvvvvvvvvv it! Look at all of those pretty feathers... I have a thing for lots of feathers in a costume... I may have mentioned this weakness before. So this costume was a winner from me from the time I laid eyes on it... who cares if the side feathers mean that you have no peripheral vision? That's so overrated anyhow.

In other summer Carnival news - a bit of news and a bit of suss.

Starting with the confirmed news, Triple Queen Fay-Ann Lyons is set to make her first appearance since giving birth just after Carnival. She will be performing this weekend self in Toronto along with husband Bunji Garlin at Kool Haus. The comeback fete is being put on by Toronto's top soca dj, Dr. Jay.

I guess this answers the question of how long was Fay-Ann's 'maternity leave' going to be. On the one hand, no-one wants to leave a child that is just two months old.

On the other hand, with the summer carnival season coming up and coming off the biggest year of her soca career, how can she not tour?

Still, expect the critics to come out with claws sharpened...

In some suss, we have been hearing that one of Barbados' premier bands, Baje International may not even be holding its regular weekly band fetes this year. We have heard that they will just hold a few of their 'major' parties that are crowd-pullers, like their Paint fete for Foreday Morning.

Though they would probably deny it publicly, Baje has been having a rough time of it the last two years. The awe that other bands and party-goers used to hold them in, is long gone and it is starting to show.

Last year, most of Baje's band fetes were not well attended while the more down to earth Brewster's Road was full to bursting - literally people were tearing down the fences at Cricket Legends to get in there, forcing their (rumoured) switch to the larger location of Tim's On the Highway this year.

Before time, Baje's band fetes used to be the hot band fetes to go to but Baje's well-earned rep as 'bouge international' and pissiness over some of the elitist habits (pre-selling a section of their band to Trinis while Bajans are scrapping for a place and the ya-gotta-ask-someone-who-know-someone-to-get-in b.s. with the affiliated Booze Cruise) have turned people off. Their formerly hot Christmas Night fete is a prime example of how the mighty are fallen. No-one would have dared go up against Baje on Christimas Night about 5 years ago. You were bound to get slaughtered. But in 2007, several people went up against Baje on Xmas night and the Emperor was shown to be kinda naked.

I'm not trying to hate on Baje - I've partied and jumped with them in the past, but I telling it how I hearing the people on the street saying it. Baje is not what it used to be.

Of course, with time comes change and it is not like the Baje principals are suffering. For one, dem fellas have big names like Haynes and Mottley so they could never suffer but for two, they may be changing their business model, since Baje front man Richard Haynes was the organiser of last year's blockbuster Cohobblopot show that packed Kensington Oval. So maybe the thinking is who needs band fetes when you got a sweet contract like that?

We'll see...