13 of 62 calypsonians get the nod, in the Epic 2017 eliminations on Saturday night at Harlem Plaza

Photo: Dominica Vibes

​13 of 62 calypsonians got the nod, in the Epic 2017 eliminations, which took place on Saturday 7th January 2017. Harlem Plaza came alive from about 9 pm, with possibly the largest crowd ever, to attend a National Calypso Eliminations Competition in Dominica, as predicted by PRO of the Dominica Calypso Association (DCA), Davidson ‘Observer” Victor.
 
During the crystal clear live broadcast of the show by Q95fm Radio, Veteran Commentator Ossie Lewis, ably assisted by Andy Carter, delivered such exhilarating commentary, song by song, beat by beat, performance by performance, in such a remarkable manner, that the large Q95 audience in Dominica and overseas, kept communicating with them ‘live-to-air’ via WhatsApp and texts throughout the night, saying they felt very much as if they were at Harlem Plaza, in the thick of things.
 
Hats off to the Dominica Calypso Association for continuing to set the tone for Carnival in Dominica with brilliant calypsonians, writers, composers and vibrant competitions, and for promoting Dominica’s calypso art form over the years.
 
Although unfortunate circumstances caused a 1-hour late start, the show lived up to expectations. Thirteen (13) of the best competitors who satisfied the judges that their two verses and two choruses delivered the best lyrics and melodies, are moving on to the quarter final round, where they will face-off against the rest of the calypsonians, who made it to the 2016 semifinals and finals; to make up the 32 calypsonians that will take part in the 2017 Quarter Finals, on Friday 20th January 2017.
 
Newcomer Phael “Healer” Lander is among the 13. The twelve others are: JD, Comforter, Chris B, Leona, Trinity, Mighty Ohme, Genius, Tasha P, Tronada, Third Eye, Stephan, and Nacheal. The five (5) reserves selected are: Haxey, Della, De Clarke, B. O. Bradley and Judgement.