Scarborough resident John “Jayson” Perez, who was the first and only Canadian calypso artist ever to win a Juno award, will help kick off a new monthly gathering celebrating calypso music in Scarborough.
The gatherings will start Sunday, April 29 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Spice Cafe, 74 Hymus Rd., and continue the last Sunday of the month. Admission is $10.
The high-powered kickoff will also feature the first lady of Calypso Tara Woods, better known as Macomere Fifi, of Thorncliffe Park.
The organizer is Scarborough calypso musician Dick Lochan, who will also perform.
“Scarborough is ripe for this,” Lochan said. “I think this thing will grow.”
While Calypso music has its roots in Trinidad and Tobago, Lochan said “it’s open to all Canadians, anyone can come on in.”
The live portion will feature a mix of popular and up-and-coming bands, with a DJ handling the rest of the music.
Lochan and Perez, who has also been crowned Canadian Calypso Monarch four times, are co-directors of a unique youth project, which is bringing calypso music to youth eight years and older Saturdays at the Berner Trail Community Centre in Malvern.
Each year, a new CD is produced by the youth group with three already out.
“In 2005, two of the songs were nominated for the Canadian Urban Music Awards,” said Lochan.
This year’s CD will likely be released late-summer.
Perez’s Soldiers We All Are album received a 1991 Juno Award in the reggae/calypso category.
