Do you remember the golden era of mega international acts visiting our shores to perform on a local stage, especially during this country’s oil boom during the ‘80s? Music-loving baby boomers were fortunate to attend and enjoy concerts by the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Roberta Flack, Dionne Warwick, Michael Jackson & The Jackson 5, Earth, Wind & Fire, Elton John, KC & The Sunshine Band, Bob Marley, Miami Sound Machine, James Brown, Luther Vandross, Beyonce, Kool & The Gang, Brothers Johnson, Lionel Richie & The Commodores, Shalamar, Jeffrey Osbourne & LTD, Swamp Dogg, Teddy Pendergras and Ralph Mac Donald.
The August holidays, a period when schools were closed for two months, provided the perfect opportunity for our promoters to lure these big names to local stages. The period now popular referred to as “summer,” despite T&T having just two seasons (dry and wet), still offers almost a three-month space on the calendar for the once mammoth concerts to be held but seems to have fallen into a drought season.
Social media has been going wild this past month with a posting that world renowned Bruno Mars was coming to Trinidad to perform the end of this month. Checks with some people in the know reveal that it is quite unlikely that this summer concert would come off as Mars is currently billed to perform in Canada at the month’s end. In fact, the award-winning performer may not be available to touch our shores before December 2018.
Renowned producer/promoter/radio magnate Tony Chow Lin On (Chinese Laundry) said: “I think the mega international summer concerts here are dead. I believe that the artistes people want to see are mostly out of the price range of local promoters. T&T simply cannot afford those acts.
“Even if there is a slim chance that a promoter can pull off one of these concerts, promoters are not motivated right now, mainly because foreign exchange is almost impossible to get. Promoters are also not motivated because attendance at concerts and night events has declined in recent years for many different reasons; the economy, the crime rate and logistics are three critical reasons.
“Also, the set up costs to stage a mega event have escalated much higher than the gate attendance. While those costs grew over the years, the gate receipts have gone in the opposite direction.”
Pressed to disclose who he would seek as a promoter to do a mega summer concert, Chow Lin On responded with a chuckle: “I cannot say which foreign act I would contract to do a mega show here, as that would be like KFC giving away the secret to its chicken recipe, or Angostura with its bitters recipe.
“But, there are a couple foreign acts today I feel that have the kind of catalogue and popularity that will draw crowds to fill the stadium. Those acts tend to be the ones to break genre barriers and appeal to music lovers across the board.”
So, the big question remains: Are locally staged, mid-year concerts a thing of the past?
Head of Slam 100.5FM Joel Morris (Signal to Noise) explained: “A number of these concerts have died basically because of costs. Costs include the asking price of the artiste, the state of our economy and the price a promoter will have to charge to recoup his investment. In addition to the artiste’s costs, there are also factors, like the infrastructure a promoter has to put in place. Those costs have escalated over the years and have become prohibitive. That is the main reason we don’t have these mega concerts any more.
“Sponsorship by the corporate sector has also decreased dramatically. There are also a trust issues about some of these promoters, many of whom are just popping up all over.”
Morris added that there are few popular internationally acclaimed performers that would make locals fall over themselves and spend “big money” to go see perform. He said: “The one artiste I believe would have tremendous pulling power would be Rihanna, because she has tapped into every genre of music. She is now really a mainstream act, so she would attract patronage across the T&T diaspora.”
As far as local artistes are concerned, Morris said: “I don’t see any local acts who can sell out the stadium for a summer concert. Why I say that is because we are a people who operate by moods and feelings. When carnival kicks in, people switch into a mood and expectation, so they are keen for mega shows at carnival time. ...But I would love to see a huge local concert in summer. I would not mind contributing to a venture like that as well.
“If Buju was available, he would easily sell out a summer concert.”
• Concerts story concludes on Wednesday.