The Carifolk Singers.
ONCE AGAIN the Cari-folk Singers ably demonstrated that folk does not mean old or irrelevant with Culturefest 2004. Culturefest 2004 presented a mix of folk songs, storytelling and drumming, featuring the Cari-folk Singers along with Amina Blackwood-Meeks and the Akwaaba Drummers.
The hearty applause of the audience at the Little Theatre on Sunday evening declared that they had quite enjoyed the feast laid before them. A feast is exactly what Amina Blackwood-Meeks promised in the introduction to the show, and the singers and Blackwood-Meeks, herself, certainly delivered.
STORYTELLING
The first half of the show featured a mixture of storytelling and folk songs, beginning with those common to childhood, in the segment titled 'Small Days'. 'Small Days' worked with a miniature plot of going through a day at school. As such, this segment featured the folk singers, dressed either in school uniforms or as teachers.
The stories told by Amina Blackwood-Meeks were woven between the songs without break, making it a part of the larger story. The songs 'Ball Gone Roun' and 'Anch' and a tale about how Anansi bought trouble were featured in the before school part of the day. The morning classes included the counting song '1234', which was made humourous when one of the students got to 'sixty' twice before the appropriate time. Erica Brown, one of the singers, also delivered a childish recital which had the audience laughing uproariously when in perfect 'recitation' pose she declared:
You take my breath away now. Quite breathless, I lay dead. But I gwine haunt di hell outa yuh
'Duppy and Obeah' was the second segment of Culturefest 2004 and featured songs and stories about death, funerals and duppies. In this segment the singers attempted to create an eerie look, with powdered faces, white gloves and black clothing.
This outfit was particularly well used in the well choreographed performance of the song 'Selena'. The songs 'Who Dat', 'Run Isaac', 'Unity', and 'You No Heary' were also featured in this segment. The 'Duppy and Obeah' segment also saw another of the singers, Roy Thomas, displaying another talent as Thomas delivered the final story for the segment.
Members of the Akwaaba Drums gave a stirring start to the second half of the show. The drummers presented a medley of Tambu rhythms, which earned a very enthusiastic applause from the audience, especially during the drumming solos.
After a potpourri of popular folk songs, such as 'Dis Long Time Gyal', 'One Solja Man', 'Banyan' and a very mournful rendition of 'Everytime Me Memba Liza' the drummers came back to the stage.
This time they participated in the 'Kumina' segment of the concert. During this segment the singers displayed great stamina as they sang lustily while dancing. Their dance moves were welcomed with enthusiastic screams, especially at deft foot movements and rump shakings.
The proceedings from Culturefest 2004 are to aid with the Cari-folk singers' attempt to make it to the Choir Olympics 2004, which will be held in Germany this year, while part-proceeds of Sunday's performance went to the Musgrave Children's Home.
