History of the Tents of Trinidad Carnival

History of the Tents

By Carl V. Johnson & Jack Galliett

Throughout the decades the calypso tents has become a huge part of The Trinidad Carnival. Besides the road march, the tents has become one of the main two venues during Carnival. The tents has also become the starting stage for many famous Calypsonians, such as Growling Tiger, the Mighty Sparrow, and Singing Sandra, as well as many others.

The Calypso tents started appearing in the 1910’s when Calypso music was first being sung during Carnival. The original tents were bamboo poles that were surrounded in material acting as a cover to make an area for the singers to perform. Most of these early tents were set up in the backyards of a masquerade band.  In these tents, these performers would sing about various subjects ranging from criticisms of the Trinidadian government to smutty topics. These singers would also go by stage names to get a feeling of power. It wasn’t until 1921 the tents were presented to the public in a professional setting. Today, events during carnival take place in an auditorium or on a stage with a seated audience. Even though the singers do not  perform in actual tents anymore, the term tent has transferred over
.

The tent has evolved from its origins of backyards, to large stages and has become a large part of Carnival. The typical arrangement of a modern Calypso tent features the the main performing Calypsonian on a stage with a house band to back him or her up. The Calypsonian will also be accompanied by backup singers who were usually female, but were occasionally male to create a big band feel with a bunch of sound.

The reason the tent is such a popular place is because of the people that have performed in the tent and the messages that have been delivered there. Some of the more noteable performances that have happened in the Tents were given by Growling Tiger, Atilla the Hun, Mighty Sparrow, and SInging Sandra. These people have been some of the most popular performers because of the actual performance or the messages in their songs.

One of the first people to win the Calypso Monarch award was Growling TIger, a boxer who won the Trinidad flyweight championship in 1929. He began singing professionally in 1934, but had been singing since his teens. His song that got him the title of Calypso Monarch was called “Trade Union”. He sang about social and political issues to express his thoughts on them. His most popular song was called ‘Money is King’, which is about economic inequality in the world.

Another famous person who focused his music around political business was Attila the Hun. He began his singing career in 1911 and his prime was between the years of 1930 and 1940. He won the title of Calypso King in 1939, 1946 and 1947. Some of his music was censored and he responded by writing a song called “The Banning of Records”, which was eventually also banned shortly after being published. At the end of his career, he he left music and became the first calypsonian to hold an elected office in the Port of Spain City Council and the Legislative Council of Trinidad and Tobago.

Another famous person from the tent is the Mighty Sparrow. He is known also as the “Calypso King of the World” because he has become one of the most successful calypsonian artists to ever win the Carnival Road March eight times and the Calypso King/Monarch eight times. The songs that got him the title of Calypso King were ‘Yankees Gone’, ‘Mae Mae’, ‘Ten to one Murder’, ‘Model Nation’, ‘Sparrow Come Back Home’, and many others. Here is ‘Sparrow Come Back Home’ by the Mighty Sparrow, https://youtu.be/-JCO8c-pHxU.

Last, but not least Singing Sandra. Titled Calypso Queen/Monarch in 1999 and in 2003, becoming the second woman to win the title of Monarch. One of her winning songs was titled ‘Voices from the Ghetto’, which talks about about the people that live on

hill and some of the sights one could see in that neighborhood. Here is a link to her recording of ‘Voices from the Ghetto’, https://youtu.be/A-ZH27vGntg.  

The Tents have been an important part of the Trinidad calypso carnival festival with young musicians starting there hoping to reach the stars. As the road march is an important event with its awards, the tents hold the Calypso Monarch award that people strive for to be given a chance to record their music and share it with the world. The tents have been with carnival for a long time and will continue to be a tradition by sharing music with the world.

Bibliography

"Atilla the Hun (calypsonian)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atilla_the_Hun_(calypsonian)>.

"Calypso." Calypso. Nalis, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. <http://www.nalis.gov.tt/Research/SubjectGuide/Music/Calypso/tabid/104/Default.aspx?PageContentID=73>.

"Calypso Monarch." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calypso_Monarch>.

Dudley, Shannon. "The Tent." Carnival Music in Trinidad: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture. New York: Oxford UP, 2004. N. pag. Print.

"First Official Calypso Tent." First Official Calypso Tent. Calypso Global, 26 Dec. 2010. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. <http://calypsoglobal.weebly.com/first-official-calypso-tent.html>.

"Mighty Sparrow." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mighty_Sparrow>.

"Neville Marcano." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Marcano>.

"SInging Sandra." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singing_Sandra>.

Carl: Performers in the tent, Youtube, Pictures, Bibliography

Jack: History of tent, pictures