In De Yard hits high note

Last Sunday’s In De Yard event, staged by the Youlou Pan Movement (YPM) at the Starlift Steel Orchestra Pan Yard at Block 2000, proved to be a more than successful event.

LEAF Elite’s trio on show last Sunday

That was the assessment of the YPM’s president Rodney Small.

Referring to the event, as “brilliant”, Small said that it was more than just an afternoon of pan.

“It gave us a roadmap to where we want to go in terms of where the industry”, Small said at the end of the event.

“One of the major things that we were trying to use is marketing, to see how we can get the bands to operate on a business level… We want to look into e-commerce, putting stuff online”, Small disclosed.

He added that the YPM executive is also encouraging bands to have agents to handle bookings.

In De Yard, saw representation from all seven home- based steel bands affiliated to the YPM, engaged in solos, duets, trios and quartets. They were complemented by a few guest acts.

In what was a pan concert, performances came from the Elite Steel Orchestra, Epic Sounds, Sion Hill Euphonium, Symphonix, South East, Starlift and XS Steel.

Reflecting on the event, Small affirmed that it was able to bridge the gap between young pan players and some of the more seasoned ones.

“It is a great feeling to really see the different generations and the style of music, so I would say that it was a major accomplishment to see the appreciation of the younger players and even the older players encouraging the younger players”.

Small said that In De Yard, also provided an outlet for some individual showcasing of pan talents.

“We don’t think that we push enough individual players in the fraternity, it is always band, band, band and never really gave persons the opportunity to experience pan in a different life than just a big orchestra”, Small said.

The virtual event, saw performers playing their pieces then exiting the venue.