Web Posted - Wednesday January 29, 2025
Loop Trinidad & Tobago News

10 Things to know when attending your first Pan Crawl

Panorama time
Panorama time

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - It’s Panorama season in Trinidad and Tobago which is in the thick of Carnival events and one of the best ways to show support for the national instrument, the Steelpan, and to have a true Panyard experience is to attend a Pan Crawl.  You may be wondering what’s a Pan Crawl? How do I get there? What’s the cost?

....A Pan Crawl is an organised Steelband cultural tour where participants visit multiple Panyards across Trinidad and Tobago. During these visits, attendees are allowed to experience live Steelband performances, interact with players, and immerse themselves in the vibrant Steelpan culture.
see more


Web Posted - Sunday January 26, 2025
Trinidad and Tobago Newsday

Golden Hands arranger tells story through music

Golden Hands arranger Vanessa Alexandra Headley-Brewster credits her late mother with her deep love for the steelpan.
Golden Hands arranger Vanessa Alexandra Headley-Brewster credits her late mother with her deep love for the steelpan.

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - Golden Hands arranger and panist Vanessa Headley-Brewster has vivid memories of her late mother, Franka Hills-Headley, coming home from classes at the UWI when she, Headley-Brewster was just four years old. Her mother was dedicated to her craft and would practice on an old, rusty pan.

....Golden Hands, which Headley-Brewster describes as a space that empowers young people through music, has become a symbol of artistic excellence in the community.

....Headley-Brewster grew up in San Fernando and says the rich cultural heritage and the resilient spirit of the south’s people have shaped the identity of Golden Hands.
see more


Web Posted - Tuesday January 28, 2025
When Steel Talks

Order of Appearance for Junior Steel Orchestras Finals - Trinidad and Tobago 2025 Junior/National Schools Panorama

2025 Junior National 
								Steelband Panorama Finals Flyer

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - The country’s talented youthful representation of the steelband art form will shine through steel orchestras from twelve Primary and ten Secondary schools, along with twelve ‘21 and Under’ bands as all compete for titles in their respective categories...on Sunday February 2.

....The Primary and Secondary schools fall within the ambit of the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Education’s National Schools Panorama. Pan Trinbago oversees the 21 and Under category...
See order of appearance


Web Posted - Sunday January 26, 2025
When Steel Talks

Results - Small Steel Orchestra - Finals - Trinidad & Tobago National Panorama 2025 - Golden Hands and New East Side Dimension Steel Orchestras Tie for First

Results - Small Steel Orchestra Finals - Trinidad & Tobago National Panorama 2025

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - It was double the celebration for two champion bands in the small steel orchestra category on final night. Doing the Southland proud was Golden Hands Steel Orchestra with arranger Vanessa Headley-Brewster, as the music organization returned to the top after first becoming champions back in 2018. At the same time New East Side Dimension retained its claim to the title in 2025, successfully defending its 2024 win with arranger Kersh Ramsey.
see full results


Web Posted - Tuesday January 21, 2025
When Steel Talks

Finals: Order of Appearance for SMALL Steel Orchestras - Trinidad and Tobago National Panorama 2025

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - And then there were fourteen; but first there were forty-four - small conventional steel orchestras, that is. All in quest of the musical grail - the small steel orchestra championship trophy and accompanying prize purse. And after the results of the preliminaries, and those of the semi-finals, the final fourteen come together for the last time in their category of the 2025 Trinidad & Tobago National Panorama.
see order of appearance


Web Posted - Sunday January 19, 2025
When Steel Talks

Results - Small Steel Orchestra Semi-Finals - Trinidad & Tobago National Panorama 2025

Results - Small Steel Orchestra Semi-Finals - Trinidad & 
				Tobago National Panorama 2025

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - ....After more than ten hours of competitive performances, last of all from the defending champion New East Side Dimension, the competition wrapped musically at 2:13 a.m. Results came around 2:40 a.m. And the reigning champs remain the ones to beat going into the finals, having scored 275 in the semis. As in the preliminaries, there were multiple ties among the semi-finals results. Southern Stars Steel Orchestra and Tobago Pan-Thers rounded out the top three in a tie.
see full results


Web Posted - Sunday January 19, 2025
Trinidad and Tobago Newsday

Pan Trinbago backs coat of arms with steelpan, social-media users knock design

Trinidad & Tobago unveil new coat of arms after Columbus’ ships replaced with Steelpan
The updated Coat of Arms as passed in the House of Representatives

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - The updated national coat of arms that was recently passed in the House of Representatives was officially unveiled on January 19 in a post on social media by the Ministry of Communications.

The National Emblems of Trinidad and Tobago (Regulation) (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which allowed for the replacement of illustrations representing ships led by explorer Christopher Columbus, with the national instrument, the steelpan, was unanimously passed in the Lower House on January 13.

The coat of arms now features the image of a gold steelpan and pansticks where Columbus’ ships once were.

....In an interview with Newsday on January 19, Pan Trinbago president Beverley Ramsey-Moore said her organisation was extremely proud.
see more


Web Posted - Thursday January 16, 2025
Trinidad and Tobago Newsday

Silver Harps back in pan semis after 37 years

Highlanders Steel Orchestra
Highlanders Steel Orchestra

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - Thirty-one dynamic steelbands in the small conventional band category will compete on January 18, at Victoria Square, Port of Spain, for one of 14 spots in the finals to be held on January 25 at Skinner Park, San Fernando.

Among them is the rejuvenated Silver Harps Steel Orchestra, which will be performing in the national semis for the first time in 37 years. This has evoked euphoria among members.

The band last played in the Panorama competition in 1988.
see more


Web Posted -- Tuesday January 14, 2025
When Steel Talks

Semi-Finals: Order of Appearance for SMALL Steel Orchestras - Trinidad and Tobago National Panorama 2025

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - Saturday January 18 is the big day for thirty-one small steel orchestras as they take to the semi-finals stage at Victoria Square in Port-of-Spain. All intend to make the final cut, having pushed through this far.

Arima Golden Symphony is first in the line-up which is expected to start at 4:00 p.m. AST (Atlantic Standard Tine).
see order of appearance


Web Posted - Tuesday January 14, 2025
When Steel Talks

Results - Small Steel Orchestra Preliminaries - Trinidad & Tobago National Panorama 2025

Results - Small Steel Orchestra Preliminaries - Steelband Panorama 2025

Global - The preliminary phase for the Small steel orchestras featured forty-four bands performing before a panel of judges in respective venues/panyards. This is the first in the three conventional steel orchestra categories of the 2025 Trinidad & Tobago National Panorama.

....As is usually the case after ‘panyard judging’ with a large number of steel orchestras, there were multiple two- and three-way ties within the results, starting out with the top position - number one - which went to three competitors, including the defending champion New East Side Dimension.
see results


Web Posted - Saturday January 4, 2025
When Steel Talks

Participants for Small Conventional Steel Orchestra Competition - Trinidad and Tobago National Panorama 2025

Participants for Small Conventional Steel Orchestra Competition - Trinidad and Tobago National Panorama 2025 - When Steel Talks

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - ....These are the participants for the 2025 season - in the preliminary phase for Small conventional steel orchestras of the Trinidad & Tobago National Panorama.

Meet the arrangers, tuners, captains, drillers, drummers, leaders et al where available.
see participants’ info



Web Posted
When Steel Talks

Trinidad and Tobago 2025 Panorama and Carnival Schedule of Events

Global - Trinidad and Tobago Panorama and Carnival Schedule of Events. Info on the activities for the 2025 steelband music season: dates, times, judging schedules, preliminaries, semi-finals and finals competitions, event venues, and more, as available.
see schedule


Web Posted
When Steel Talks

2025 Trinidad and Tobago National Steelband Panorama Info - Complete

Global - PanOnTheNet/ WhenSteelTalks is Panorama Central! Complete information on the 2025 season of the Trinidad and Tobago National Panorama, and competitions:  Schedules, Orders of Appearance for preliminary, semi-final and final phases for large, medium and small conventional steel orchestras, and single pan bands; arrangers’ bios, bios of steel orchestras; full results, panyard addresses, history of previous Panoramas, and much more!
see complete information index



When Steel Talks

Facebook got it wrong - Meta World and WST & SteelPan Are Friends Again

Facebook “Likes” sends PanOnTheNet Apology - “We got it wrong”

Metaverse - Facebook got it wrong. About three years ago without warning or reason all WST (When Steel Talks) steelpan-related accounts fell out of favor with the social media giant Facebook now known as Meta and its aligned consortiums (Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp). Because WST has all of our material hosted on our own shared servers, this ‘tag’ was not incurable or as problematic as it could have been. However, it was annoying to have people seeking critical steelpan music info diverted by Facebook AI (artificial intelligence).
see more


Web Posted
When Steel Talks

Technology Giant “Google” Celebrates the steelpan instrument via Google Doodle

Celebrating Steelpan - Illustration by artist Nicholas Huggins

Doodle of steelpan instrument ‘live’ on Google’s web site
Doodle of steelpan instrument ‘live’ on Google’s web site

Global - On Tuesday July 26, 2022 the steelpan instrument of Trinidad and Tobago is featured and celebrated on the site of technology giant “Google” via the famed Google ‘Doodle.’ The ‘Doodle’ is essentially an illustrative change made to the Google corporate logo “to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous artists, pioneers, and scientists” - and more. The doodle is then seen by users all around the world who access Google’s homepage on that day, and is available thereafter in the doodle archives.

....Trinidad and Tobago-based artist Nicholas Huggins is the creator of the illustrative artwork featured in the doodle, while Etienne Charles is the composer of the accompanying music performed by the legendary steelpan icon Len “Boogsie” Sharpe.
see more