Panorama 2025 Results - Exodus Steel Orchestra and Arranger Terrance “BJ” Marcelle are Champions, Jubilant in 2025 - Trinidad & Tobago National Panorama

Trinidad & Tobago, W.I. - They led all the way from the preliminaries, through the semi-finals and took home the championship title after final night competition. Exodus Steel Orchestra and arranger Terrance “BJ” Marcelle are champions in the large steel orchestra category of the 2025 Trinidad & Tobago National Panorama. Saturday March 1 into March 2 will forever hold treasured memories for this musical collaboration which ended a title drought for one, and delivered the first for the other.

Drought no more - championship drought that is, for champion band again, Exodus. After ‘wondering’ for more than two decades, the legacy steel orchestra has finally made it back home to its ‘desired’ destination - the top. Twenty-one calendar years have passed since the ‘Puna band last tasted victory in 2004; there are young steelpan musicians performing with the veteran music organization who were not even born at the time.

And just as exultant is Terrance “BJ” Marcelle with his first championship title in the large steelband category in Trinidad and Tobago. To be sure, he has triumphed with large steel orchestras before, no less than five times in the New York Panorama, with the most recent being in 2023. But never in his homeland of Trinidad and Tobago, so this was a night of unimaginable sweetness and success for the La Brea native, fulfilling a longstanding ambition of his.

The band’s season of musical work was aided by driller Khan Cordice, who has worked with Exodus for the past three years. Khan himself is a champion arranger in his own twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, and has led Hells Gate Steel Orchestra to no less than ten Panorama championships since 2009.

As Exodus claimed its fifth Panorama title, with ‘bragging rights’ came the prize purse of TTD $1,000,000.00 (circa USD $147,646.00 at current exchange rates), along with the challenge trophy. The 2024 winners Trinidad All Stars and Renegades steel orchestras relinquished their joint year-long ownership; the latter went on to place second this year taking home TTD $800,000.00 (circa USD $118,204.00), while the former had to settle for eighth, with a TTD $500,000.00 (circa USD $73,877.00) prize.

Exodus Steel Orchestra - 2025 Championship performance at the Queen’s Park Savannah - courtesy CNC3

All the steel orchestras came to win and went flat out, holding absolutely nothing back. After long days and nights of practice in their panyards, which intensified after semi-finals results - then going into the last week before finals, they took pride of place on stage, having made it to ‘the Big Yard’ at the Queen’s Park Savannah.

The ‘large band’ category of competition, the final one in the 2025 Trinidad & Tobago National Panorama unfolded under brilliant lights, and before the audiences - of the Grand and North Stands at the Savannah. Resplendent and colorful uniforms, fiery performances, and thematic presentations unfurled along with flag wavers for an unforgettable evening. For this Panorama season, championships were already won in the Single Pan, Small, Junior Panorama and Medium arenas. And now the most closely-watched musical race in the annual national Panorama season in Trinidad and Tobago has been called - for Exodus.

Seven-time Panorama champion Phase II Pan Groove which last tasted success in 2014 - for the second year running, had drawn unenviable playing position one - same as in 2024. This did not stop them delivering the opening salvo from about 7:37 p.m. AST (Atlantic Standard Time), the first band shaking the musical rafters for the night. Loud cheers and roars of appreciation in response from supporters and the audience in general, sounded after respective performances.

The overall runtime for the entire event was shorter than in 2024. Last competitor on stage Renegades’ final flourish sounded one minute after midnight with results coming just before 12:30 a.m.

Following are the full results for the 2025 final night competition for Large conventional steel orchestras.

Color Key

East Zone Region

North Zone Region

South/Central
Zone Region

Tobago Region