On Monday, February 6, Naparima Bowl will come alive with the sweet sounds of steelpan, soca, and Joshua Regrello’s infectious energy.
Headlining a diverse cast of performers, the artist plans to offer a full-blown theatrical experience that he promises will blow the audience away.
“I wanted this concert to be different from the last one,” Regrello told Loop News, explaining how he and his team conceived an immersive experience that is more than the average musical stage performance.
He said that pannists have a duty to teach people about the culture.
“Everybody must leave there knowing something new about pan,” he said. “I don’t want people to hear the story of pan and think that it’s boring. This event is special because it’s a fete, but it’s also a concert.”
The ‘fete-cert’, as he called it, will incorporate theatrical elements with actors in addition to the musicians and line-up of soca performers, creating an event that Regrello hopes will leave patrons both edified and entertained.
Regrello plans to take the education about the national instrument out of the classroom and onto the stage, through a hands-on, interactive experience.
“We need to change the way that things are communicated,” he explained. “Sometimes we have to see things in a theatrical way.”
Among the attractions, patrons will be greeted by sights and sounds of pans being tuned at the venue and will have the opportunity to play the steelpan themselves.
He said that many people have never actually played a steelpan and at the event, they’ll be able to do so freely.
The show will feature first-time live performances of Regrello’s 2023 songs: “Warzone” with 3 Canal and “Pan Man” with Mical Teja, Ding Dong and System32.
Regrello said that the creative process of working with these artists was an exciting one and that the versatility of pan allows for it to match differently and interestingly with various artists’ creative voices.
“Just being on stage with so many people with so many different energies makes it so exciting for me,” he said.
Stating that he’s known 3 Canal members Wendell Manwarren, Roger Roberts, and Stanton Kewley since childhood through his parents’ closeness with the group, Regrello said that working with them is another phase, an extension of his relationship with the rapso legends.
He spoke of being in awe watching them perform and interact with each other’s creative energy in the studio.
“They’re fascinating to look at, they’re so in sync with each other,” he said. “They all match, they talk, they move in unison.”
Regrello said that while writing the song, it came to him that 3 Canal’s raw energy seemed ideal for the track.
Explaining that “Warzone” is meant to represent freedom, he said: “That was why I wanted them on [the song]–I feel like they embody freedom. Every sound, every grunt, it’s so perfectly placed. They just add so much character to the song.”
Speaking about his collaboration with Mical Teja, Regrello referred to the singer/songwriter as being “precise” and “thorough” in his creative direction and vision and praised him for being easy to work with.
“He’s such a creative genius,” he declared.
Regrello’s music-making remains rooted in a genuine love for the culture and is driven by a passion for sharing it with others.
He stated: “A lot of people have events and say, ‘this is for the culture’–this one is really for the culture.”
Tickets for De Pan Man Concert: The Story of Pan are available via Island E-Tickets and at Offside Restaurant and Sports Bar at South Park, 519 at C3, Fitt Street Market in Woodbrook, and at select Sasha Cosmetics Image Centres.
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