Antigua & Barbuda Panorama 2024 Results - Hells Gate Steel Orchestra with Arranger Khan Cordice Triumph Again

RESULTS

Antigua & Barbuda, W.I. -  The ARG (Antigua Recreation Grounds) in the capital of St. John’s reverberated with the steelband Panorama once more on this August 3 evening, where both steelband music lovers and steel orchestras were present for this annual meet-up. The championship collaboration that is Hells Gate Steel Orchestra and arranger Khan Cordice was in force once again, trouncing six challengers to their throne, playing Ricardo Drue’s Ah Love It Here.  The take home? Panorama title number twenty-three for Hells Gate, the tenth for Cordice, and the prize purse of  EC $35,000 (circa USD $12,950).

Second-placed Original Steel Orchestra was not far behind monetarily with EC $30,000 (circa USD $11,100), while Panache Steel Orchestra snagged EC $25,000 (circa USD $9,250) for placing third. The other four competing bands were each awarded EC $20,000 (circa USD $7,400). As has been done in past years, results were given only for the top three bands.

The musical juices of pan lovers were charged up when West Side Symphony—looking the part, in costumes, complete with capes—opened with Supaman (Superman) not long after 8:30 p.m., followed by an unexpectedly small contingent of Gemonites Steel Orchestra with Patrick “Stone” Johnson returning as Panorama arranger after many years. They would be the sole group which did not opt for music by Ricardo Drue; instead they chose Tian Winter’s Let Loose.

Veteran arranger Aubrey “Lacu” Samuel led Harmonites International through one of Drue’s earlier releases - the melodic Socaholic; then came Panache Steel Orchestra which once more turned to Malik Smith, this time to arrange Ah Love It Here, same tune of choice as Hells Gate. The sounds of steel continued via band number five, Original Steel Orchestra, which spread the joy through Happy Music, going with a Derel Jarvis-arrangement. Penultimate band Halcyon Steel Orchestra secured the services of Deiondre Teague, said to be the youngest arranger in the competition, and turned in a very good performance of Let’s Duet (Do It) .

This year the country’s national Panorama was the customary celebration of the steelband art form, this time along with the legacy of music in the relatively short life of late national soca icon Ricardo Drue. Aged only 38 when, on December 12 last year, news of his passing shook the music world and beyond - six of the seven competing bands chose to honor Drue’s legacy by performing selections from his music catalog for Panorama 2024.

With only seven bands taking the stage, the event ran past 12:30 a.m. by which time umbrellas had gone up briefly under a bit of rain.  Then it was the turn of the final competitor of the night, Hells Gate, which delivered what was another winning music salvo, rocking the crowd and closing off at 12:45 a.m. Results came in around 1:10 a.m., with the top three bands receiving trophies on stage, and all entrants leaving with their respective checks.

The same trio from 2023 was tasked with judging this year’s competition:  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines’ Rodney Small, and Andre Forde and David “Ziggy” Walcott, both from Barbados. Nubia Williams from Trinidad & Tobago was part of the team presenting which included Dr. George Roberts and Marion Byron during the ABS Television broadcast.

See championship performance

Following are the results, where provided:

(Click for original LIVE STREAM)

Related content:

• Antigua & Barbuda 2024 Panorama Live stream
• Antigua & Barbuda 2024 Order of Appearance
• Antigua & Barbuda Panorama 2023 Results
• Antigua & Barbuda Panorama Champions
• The Story of Pan in Antigua
• A brief history on Antigua’s Oldest Steelband, Hells Gate Steel Orchestra

Leave your comment in the WST forum