Antigua & Barbuda Panorama 2026 Results: Hells Gate Steel Orchestra Victorious Again with Arranger Khan Cordice - But What About Bands Four Through Eight?

Antigua & Barbuda, W.I. -  The country’s 2026 National Panorama is now in the history books, but before that there were hours of sweet steelband music for the annual competition held August 1 at the Antigua Recreation Grounds dubbed ‘Carnival City.’ There was a very high level of musicianship at this Panorama. The bands with their musicians showed up and showed out - the fruits of their weeks, even months, of musical labor in their respective panyards clearly visible, and certainly audible. At the end of the night, when results were announced shortly before 1:00 a.m. on August 2, Hells Gate Steel Orchestra had done it again - still champion, in the process racking up its twenty-fifth national Panorama title, and the seventh consecutive. Resident arranger Khan Cordice also added to his winning ways, growing his accomplishments to a total of twelve championship arrangements.

The nation’s panists left no musical stones unturned, regardless which orchestra they played with. Harmonites International with eight Panorama titles to its credit—the last in 2004—fanned the competitive flames with Aubrey “Lacu” Samuel’s arrangement of the Mighty Swallow’s Fire In The Back Seat. West Side Symphony followed, patriotism on full display with pan racks bearing the country’s national flag when it performed the much-loved classic Stand Up For Antigua arranged by Oren Peters.

The passion in Panache Steel Orchestra came out as its pan people played up a storm when delivering arranger Malik Smith’s vision of the literal ‘Pan Tune’ Pan Man Play sung by Claudette Peters. The crowd response was unmistakable at the end of the performance.

Band number four, Original Steel Orchestra, had the same tune of choice and its energized panists kept the music pulsating and the audience moving with a Derel Jarvis-arrangement. Playing fifth was Gemonites Steel Orchestra, and arranger Johnny Gonzales returned this year to work with the band on the late Ricardo Drue’s Bet. Sixth on stage was Pandemonium Steel Orchestra whose inaugural Panorama appearance was last year where they placed second. For 2026 they stayed with the music of Claudette Peters opting for the soca artist’s Mad Mad Mad. Helmed by arranger and captain Dr. Zahra Lake, the orchestra’s musical presentation was anything but; in fact Lake’s dynamic arrangement and the band’s meticulous execution and great sounding instruments were the order of the night.

Penultimate band and title defender Hells Gate Steel Orchestra delivered a powerful performance as they threw down the musical gauntlet, daring rivals to their musical supremacy to Bet against them. Arranger Khan Cordice is essentially a master of storytelling and exquisite musicology. Like Pandemonium before it, Hells Gate also ended its performance with a distinctive fireworks display. The last band on stage, Halcyon Steel Orchestra, proudly celebrating its fifty-fifth anniversary in 2026, was the third band going with Bet in this year’s Panorama. The music organization showed it was up to the challenge of competition, and put forward a bold performance as it brought the curtain down for the evening. It was sufficient to lock in third place for the orchestra.

Music lovers lucky enough to be at Carnival City and soaking in the raw element of the awesomeness of the steel orchestras in person, were indeed blessed. They were probably privy to a fairly unfiltered sonic experience. Not so those catching the event online via such as ABS TV on YouTube. Whatever the reason, the sound was virtually unlistenable for the majority of the performances, with distortion - not music - taking center stage.

It is 2026, and it has been a long time since this dismal sound quality has been aired for a live Panorama competition in Antigua. It was unexpected and a step backward from the customarily listenable live stream of steel orchestra performances in past years. Hopefully those overseeing the ABS TV broadcast will get it together before the 2027 Panorama event.

Incidentally, the bands placing first, second and third, all played the same tune of choice - Bet by Ricardo Drue. And only those top three positions were shared, leaving steelband music lovers and supporters out of the loop for yet another year when the remaining five bands’ placings were not announced.

When it is time for that final performance, to be judged, and the musicians play their hearts out for those eight minutes of competition, leaving it all on that stage, and for the communities supporting them - this ongoing practice of not delivering full results may not be at all welcome. It can even be looked at as having less than stellar transparency in competition. Imagine participants (and their management teams) in such an event like the Olympics, settling for not having public results after competing.

This is in stark comparison to Antigua’s 2005 Panorama when not only the results with scores were put out, but there was a breakdown of how the then-three-judge panel individually ranked each band, points-wise. Fast-forward twenty-one years later, when the opposite is in effect - only the names of the top three bands are released, with no scores, and zero data on the other five steel orchestras is shared in the results announced.

This now-institutionalized practice was noticed by the country’s steelband fraternity back in 2009 for Antigua Panorama; 2008 was the last time full placings were given for the competing steel orchestras in the national competition. What a change from 2005. So now each year, even before steelpan musicians begin practicing for the Panorama season they are aware if they do not place in the top three, results are not shared.

Carl “The Panman” Richards, Nubia Williams, and Dr. George Roberts ably anchored the ABS TV Panorama broadcast, and steelband connoisseurs so inclined had the opportunity to benefit from and be educated by Williams’ insightful and teachable commentary. She does, after all “conduct training workshops for judges all across the Caribbean.”

It was a night of fantastic steelband music. The musicians came out for the Love of Pan, the steelband art form. And they expect to do it all again in 2027.

(Click for original LIVE STREAM)

Following are the results, where provided:

Panorama images source: YouTube screen grabs, courtesy ABS TV.

Related content:

• Antigua & Barbuda Panorama 2025 Results

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