BLENDING tradition with innovation, D’Kaiso Dynasty, formerly Kaiso House, has made a calculated effort to add more soca to its package, which was previously dominated by calypso.
It is all part of a strategy to present the best package to audiences which have been declining over the years.
Artiste Yung Bredda, who would have been scoffed at and ostracised in the past by traditionalists, is now being embraced.
Tent manager Melissa Williams of the rebranded tent explained why.
“We saw it fit to rebrand and restructure with our strategic direction for the calypso organisation and more so, to consider and begin to activate that more profitable management model.
“One of the ways we see the manifestation of this plausible management model is that it should consist of what we call a very attractive entertainment package.
“We recognise that tents overall have been suffering from audience decline, so one of the key strategies, we believe, to expand our audience, is diversity and representation.
“More importantly, we see our role as not just promoting calypso, but the byproducts of calypso.”
While recognising and still observing tradition, having in its cast legends like Brother Valentino, Brother Mudada, Poser and even Winston ‘Gypsy" Peters, who is clocking 72 years of age, Dynasty is also embracing the modernised byproducts of the calypso.
[caption id="attachment_1136183" align="alignnone" width="683"] Winston "Gypsy" Peters - Photo by Daniel Prentice[/caption]
In essence, it has created a platform aimed at being representative of all the derivatives of Trinidad and Tobago’s indigenous art form.
“Soca has been in the tent before, but we are being very deliberate in the package we present, inclusive of soca, chutney soca, spoken word, even rapso, because this is us."
The tent will open its doors on February 13 with a star-studded cast of vintage mixed with modern material, at Radisson Hotel, Wrightson Road, Port of Spain.
Acts will include former calypso monarchs such as Karene Asche, Chuck Gordon, the father-and-son combination of Duane and Ta’zyah O’Connor, Yung Bredda and Kernal Roberts, former chutney soca monarchs Rikki Jai and GI.
[caption id="attachment_1136225" align="alignnone" width="1024"] GI - Photo by Lincoln Holder[/caption]
In recognition of its role as a developer, Williams said there is a platform to spotlight young and upcoming artistes. To this end rising star Aaron Duncan, Akeisha and the duo Reece and Nel will also be a part of the cast.
Saying 2025 has been dubbed the "year of calypso," Williams has pledged to push aside that stigma and have it take its place at activities throughout the year.
“We are tired of calypso being seasonal,” said Williams, and the rebranded D’Kaiso Dynasty, Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation’s (TUCO) flagship tent, is making the bold move to change that.
[caption id="attachment_1136227" align="alignnone" width="683"] Michelle Henry -[/caption]
Part of its strategic direction is to take TT’s cultural artform to the world, usin
