So, this year marks the 50th anniversary of Crop Over, and what do we academic types do with art that has been around a long time? We analyse it and classify it. Like other classification systems, there is no one cut-off point; instead, each one flows into the other. Let me declare my hand now; these periods will deal with areas of creativity within Crop Over, which, in the case of Barbados, are mostly within the soca area (which really starts to come in the 2nd Period) 1st-period Ancient Crop Over Music  – 1974-1982 Music of the earliest Crop Over falls under here. The genre of the peri ..read more

I am happy to let everyone know this is out now on BBC Sounds. Thanks to Peter Brathwaite for having me. I know BBC Sounds is not available everywhere, but hopefully, you will find a way to access it. It really is worth a listen, and not because I feature in it. It is a beautiful Bajan story. #BBCDocumentary #bbc #bajan #bajanstories https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0dz9lrn?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile ..read more

To all those who have stopped by and checked in, and followed me. Have a Happy New Year from stefanwalcott.com ..read more

Here is a video to go with the article “White People Can’t Dance” currently on this blog. Enjoy. A video ..read more

Hello, Here is a video I created for the 1688 Dingolay channel. It looks at the ways Africa has contributed to the music of the Caribbean and the Americas. Enjoy ..read more

Crop Over is finished for 2022. Here is my personal highlight: the Barbados National Youth Steel Orchestra, led by Lowrey Worrell doing my arrangement of an Alison Hinds medley sung by Ambassador Alison Hinds herself. Here is to a great Crop Over 2023 ..read more

Hello everyone, Are you a social media creator, film or tv producer, marketing officer or an artist who needs Caribbean music and is tired of getting those takedown requests? Then this is for you. Head over to https://stefanwalcott.bandcamp.com/ and take a look and listen to my royalty=free albums. There’s something there for you ..read more

Crop Over is a summer festival held in Barbados. Originally it was a post-harvest festival held after the sugar season, but it was re-introduced in the 1970s as a carnival-like event. Since its re-introduction, the festival has grown considerably to where it is now one of the main cultural events in the Barbadian calendar. Over the years, many songs have been released for Crop Over that fall into two genres: Calypso Soca The calypsos are usually written for the calypso competition while the soca songs are for the parties and the street celebration known as Kadooment. I will now give a Top 10 ..read more

In Barbados and the Caribbean, we struggle to tell our stories. Of late, there has been a real uptick in digital content, which makes me happy. This series is an example of this where producer Randy Eastmond talks about how some famous Barbadian songs are created. It’s called Behind the Riddim. Check out this episode featuring John Roett ..read more

I created the following re-arrangement of 2 Mile Hill and Buggy’s Talk to Me using just one virtual instrument. I chose BBC Discover by Spitfire because this library is very affordable in comparison with others and gives very few articulation choices. As a creative person, setting up limits forces you to solve problems in others ways. I recommend this process highly. Anyway, here is the video, enjoy.  ..read more