Pre-show Calypso Party!

Steel drums, Calypso DJs, and more heat-up the NAC’s Canal Foyer before the legendary Calypso Rose and Kobo Town take the stage!

Join us at 6:30pm as we take in the gorgeous Steel Pan playing of musician Eddie Alleyne, and take in the best Soca and Calypso from beloved Ottawa party-maker, DJ Massive Vibes.

6:30-7:45 pm
NAC Canal Foyer
FREE!

Calypso Rose is the undisputed queen of Calypso music, reigning for more than 40 years. Originally from Trinidad & Tobago, Calypso Rose has enjoyed a long and celebrated career as the matriarch of the genre from which she takes her name.
 
In 1978 the "Calypso King" competition had to be renamed "Calypso Monarch" in her honour as the first female winner. She has also received the International Award of Caribbean Music and the award for “Most Outstanding Woman" by the National Action Committee for Women in Trinidad and Tobago.

Rose's latest album, Far From Home, in which she collaborates with French singer Manu Chao, achieved massive success, hitting the top of the charts upon its release and received the French GRAMMY Award (Victoires de la Musique) for World Album of the Year.

Having produced 30 albums and composed 800 songs, she lives today in Queens, New York City.

Founded and fronted by émigré Trinidadian songwriter Drew Gonsalves, Kobo Town’s music has been variously described as “an intoxicating blend of lilting calypsonian wit, dancehall reggae and trombone-heavy brass” (Guardian) and a “unique, transnational composite of rhythm, poetry and activist journalism.”(Exclaim!) From their home in Toronto, the JUNO-nominated group has brought their distinct calypso-inspired sound to audiences across the world, from Port-of-Spain to Paris and from Montreal to Malaysia.