The 2022 Barbados Celtic Festival continued its celebrations in wonderful style on Saturday with a energetic parade of pipers and drummers from Scotland and Canada, who once more teamed up with members of the Barbados Defence Force Band as they made their way through the guts of Bridgetown.
Jeana Leslie, Director of the Barbados Celtic Festival, says the team behind the annual festival was delighted to be back on the island once more after the break brought on by the pandemic.
She says it was all the time an enjoyable experience for the band to merge Scottish and Caribbean genres of music.
“The pipers and the Barbados Defence Force Band on this parade have been playing some traditional Scottish folk pipe band tunes, nonetheless later we’re going to move as much as the boardwalk and we’re going to mix in some calypso and folk. It’s going to be an amalgamation of the 2 with each bands,” Leslie said.
“Everyone seems to be so delighted to be back here again; your country is completely amazing, the persons are beautiful, they’re so friendly and welcoming, so the experience is [great] getting back on Bajan soil and attending to play with the Barbados Defence Force Band and the amazing musicians.”
She says that having been on pause for the last two years due to COVID, the band saw the restart of the festival as a really momentous occasion.
“We’ve got not performed anywhere for the past two years. It’s the primary festival that the majority of the musicians from Scotland and Canada and England have performed at since COVID, so it’s a extremely special and monumental occasion.”
Director of Music for the Barbados Defence Force Band, Captain Brian Cole, expressed his pleasure with having the BDF band working with the Scottish pipers and drummers, describing it as an interesting experience.
“We got to embrace the Scottish culture, the Scottish music, learning from the bagpipes, not only just the notes on the page, however the variety of the music they play is just tremendous.” (SB)
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