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They’re being called Crapacades on the popular blogs. This is because the Cavalcades series, responsible for revving up the festive energy prior to the annual Crop-Over Festival, has not been showcasing the darlings of the soca party scene, as they had done in previous years. One of the speculations is that the series’ organiser, the National Cultural Foundation, doesn’t want to pay popular artistes what they’re asking. One of the popular blogs, boycevoice.com, administrated by Peter Boyce raised questions that the SUNDAY SUN had also been bombarded with since the launch of Super Six Cavalcades on May 2. A section of the blog queried: “. . . This year have you noticed a dearth of major local acts from this year’s Cavalcades? No Li’l Rick, no Peter Ram, No Mr Dale. Do you know why you are not seeing some of these artistes who helped to develop Cavalcades from scratch? Negotiations have broken down between [the] NCF and these artistes because [the NCF] can’t pay the money the local acts are charging,” he wrote. Boyce, who worked with the Cavalcades planning committee last year, was commenting on the fee differentials between local and Trinidadian acts hired for Crop-Over gigs. Comments responding to the boycevoice.com posts and Boyce’s facebook.com posts indicated: “The Cavalcades this year are the worst they have ever had . . . after cutting them to six they now left out some of the better artiste that [people] generally go to hear,” Fennelle blogged. “ [I] haven’t been to any of the “crapacades” for this same reason ’cause none of the proper acts are in the line-up . . . just like Congaline the Cavalcades will be a thing of the past ’cause ya gine soon gotta pay to go to them and then they will become obsolete,” Nelly Bash posted. But this view from André Traxx Chase offered another perspective to the debate: “[Anderson] Blood [Armstrong] was there . . . . He isn’t well known? . . . [M]aybe they trying to give the newer artistes a try. If that is the case, then so be it. None of Rick music aint out yet either; at least not to what I know. So maybe they want people wid the fresh material. That could also be it,” he wrote on Wednesday. To set the record straight chairman of the NCF, Ken Knight, said: “The initial concept of the Cavalcades was to include as many local artistes as possible, in terms of exposing new talent.” He said that in recent years there has been a “gravitation towards the more popular fellows [in Crop-Over]”. “It’s not that the NCF does not want to pay the artistes, as we’re fully committed to developing all the talent in Barbados. Last year we spent over $1.7 million in talent alone for Crop-Over,” he added. He said the NCF never intended not to pay or underpay talent. “In fact that runs contrary to our policy,” he said. Under the current “fiscal parameters” Government agencies such as the NCF were “this year in particular” being held “to a very strict budget”, Knight stressed. For the three upcoming Cavalcades at Glebe Playing Field St John, Gall Hall, St John, and the National Stadium, Knight said the line-up would be even hotter. “What we want to do is build up the crescendo coming into Crop-Over. “It’s about marketing this thing we call Crop-Over. Indeed we’ll be adding some of the more popular artistes,” he confirmed. |
| Last Updated ( Friday, 19 June 2009 17:31 ) |