The Rounds: BBC Radio 1 cancels its soca show

In this edition:

• St. Vincent Carnival Launch
• Ist Cavalcade of Cropover
• Royalties Xtreme Band Launch
• Alison Hinds at IRAWMA's
• BBC 1xtra cancels its Soca program

Good Evening Soca Lovers,

I'm Nurse Karen and these are Dr. Jay’s rounds. What a weekend! Saturday was an action packed day all over socaverse.  There were Carnival road parades in St. Thoman, St. Marten and GRAND CAYMAN. Dr. Jay actually DJ’d on the road down there for Swanky international, and I understand the band went on to capture the band of the year title.

Over in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Vincy Mas 2009 has officially begun. Festivities took places across the mainland with music trucks parading into town from all parts of the island. Last year’s road march king, Icon...defeated Zoelah in the new song competition. He’s already got fans in the palms of his hands with popular releases like Teaser and Congaline.

Zoelah had won that title in both 2007 and 2008. But no worries Zoelah fans, her new tune More Water, promises to get its share of DJ spins as her follow up to Wine Up On Me.  

Nurse Karen last month in Toronto with Zoelah

The Crop Over festivities unofficially began in Barbados yesterday with the very first cavalcade. Tone Def Studio is out the gates early as usual with an album called Chaos produced by Andy “Blood” Armstrong, former frontline vocalist with Square One.  

Blood in his studio in BIM

Mas bands are launching all over the Caribbean, and here in Toronto two. One of our biggest bands, Carnival Nationz unleashed it’s 2009 presentation called “In Full Bloom - Fruits and Flowers” last night. In St. Lucia on Friday night, a popular radio personality, magazine editor and DJ, MC Scady impressed the local media when he added one more title to his resume as the P.R.O. of the new carnival band Royalties Xtreme.

Rochelle in St. Lucia last Friday with Scady

 The Lucian posse out there would remember Royalties as very a popular force on the road from the 1980’s through 2002. Then they disappeared. In ’08 the Lucians in England brought a band called Xtreme to Nottinghill Carnival. So the two groups have joined forces to bring de ting back home. The gorgeous presentation is called Africa is Our home.

Something else that started in England, made the rounds this week. UK born Soca star Alison Hinds has a date with the International Reggae and World Music Awards in Queens, New York this evening. She will be the only soca act performing at the show.  

At lastly, BBC 1xtra, one of two commercial stations in the UK that plays any soca at all, has made the decision to cancel their International Sounds of Soca program. In the past, the program was hosted by Slick and Machel Montano. Our boy, Kerwin Du Bois used to DJ on there sometimes when he was still living in England. Then bajan beauty Alex Jordan was the first female to host the program, and became the first DJ to ever resign from the station last Autumn. Since then, DT temporarily took the helm. 

Nurse Karen at a 1Xtra live broadcast with Alex Jordan in London, England

Well, it is possible that some kinda soca show will be back on air in the Summer but for now, CRICKETS!

I’m Nurse Karen and those were Dr. Jay’s Rounds. If you love soca, and wouldn’t let anyone take your favourite music off your FAVOURITE radio station, visit me online at Nurse dash Karen dot com. Now, back to de Docta!