by Donella Hosten
This year’s Panorama, scheduled for the National Stadium on Saturday, 12 August 2017, at 6 pm, is once again being critiqued by some pan players.
One member of a popular steel band, Dashiki Phillip, believes that ‘pan on a whole is always being victimised.’ According to him, this could have been seen during last week’s Kiddies Carnival Pan competition, when the bands were not allowed onto the main stage which was built by Sunshine Promotions.
As a result of this, Phillip stated that the competition was held up for almost 2 hours, and the steelbands conceded to performing on a small platform on the grounds.
He said bigger bands such as Commancheros and Angel Harps were unable to fit on the stage, and their front lines had to perform on the grass. “We see this as a blatant disrespect to Pan and its players.”
According to Phillip, Ian St Bernard, publicly known as Judah, proprietor of Sunshine Promotions and Judah Sound System, stated bluntly that he wants nothing to do with Pan. However, in speaking to Judah, he refuted this statement and refused to comment further on the matter.
Phillip, who appears to be quite passionate about the situation, said he respects Judah as a businessman, but, he does not think Pan should be made to suffer in the way that it is today. He briefly mentioned last year’s incident when players were forced out of the stadium and not allowed to fully celebrate like all other Spicemas winners.
This year, Phillip said he believes there will be little to no difference, as the stadium will once again be used for another event when Panorama concludes.
[Update: Panorama postponed to Saturday, 19 August 2017]
