Soul singer Brenda Butler may not be a fan of the spotlight, but today she will shine as she performs for the first time at the 2024 Pan African Festival TT.
Her show, Jazz at Sunset, begins at 6 pm at the Lidj Yasu Omowale Emancipation Village, Queen's Park Savannah, hosted by the Emancipation Support Committee.
She is being accompanied by jazz composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Rodney Alexander and a band comprised of Dean Williams on guitar, Emile fortune on keyboard and Kevin O’Keiffe on drums.
She said she is excited to work with four masters of their art and to make her debut performance at the festival.
"I feel honoured and privileged, to be honest. This is a big deal in my mind. I'm just a small fry; I don't really consider myself on of the premiere artists in TT. I love singing, I love performing, I love music and I love going to shows," she told WMN.
In addition to jazz, she will be performing some back-in-times, neo-soul and “up the Caribbean” songs. She will also include some cover songs for the younger people in the crowd.
"Last year I went and saw Kay Allen. She did the same show last year, Jazz at Sunset, with Rodney, and this year I'm going to be the one on the stage. So I was absolutely blown away to get the call and partnering with such amazing musicians took me away."
Butler said it feels poignant to perform the first year the government changed the name of the holiday from Emancipation Day to African Emancipation Day. She feels like she is representing her African people in front of the country and being a small part of the country’s history.
She said she loves being black and has learned a lot about her history from visiting the Emancipation Village. She thinks it is unfortunate that in the wider world she sees so much discrimination against black people.
“Are we really going to have to live the rest of our lives fighting just to be ‘normal’ and accepted? Why does it have to be harder for black people to make something of themselves?
“Why can’t black people wear their hair however they want and be allowed to go to a graduation or at work? It’s only now that some places are being more accepting. That need for justice and acceptance is what I feel connected to.”
She said in TT, many people are of mixed race and she find that to be a beautiful thing. She said we should all love, appreciate and celebrate that and each other.
Butler, 58, said she loved singing from a young age but was not always good at it. She auditioned for a number of choirs and was rejected, until she attended an open call when she was a form three student at St Joseph’s Convent San Fernando.
She was accepted and eventually sang in the Presentation College/St Joseph’s Convent choir and got a solo part at a performance.
“I think what I love is connecting with people. I realised that is my talent, to be able to stand on a stage and I can connect with individuals. There will be something that I will sing, or we will meet eyes and I can connect with you. And I love that.
“Am my pitch perfect
