Tobago's rich arts and entertainment landscape

 

The island’s cultural scene ranges from traditions with strong roots in Tobago’s communities, to international events attracting talent and patrons from across the globe.

Music

Clubs, hotels, bars and restaurants across the island present local performers as regular and rotating headliners, with nights dedicated to jazz, reggae, hip-hop, R&B, Latin and of course calypso, soca and steelpan music. April sees an explosion of local, regional and international jazz (and non-jazz) talent around the Tobago Jazz Experience, and the Plymouth Jazz Festival which preceded it. The events have drawn impressive rosters of international pop stars like Diana Ross; Elton John; Earth, Wind & Fire; Smokey Robinson; Shakira; LL Cool J; Diddy; Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder. Other smaller events in April showcase local and regional jazz talent.

Visual Art

Well-known artists include Jim Armstrong, Kevin Ayoung-Julien, Edward Hernandez, Luise Kimme, David Knott, Earl Manswell, Martin and Rachael Superville. The Tobago Museum exhibits a range of local artwork.

Folk Performance

Almost every village has a performing or cultural arts group that preserves Tobago’s rich folk traditions, hosting or guesting at performances during the year. Speech bands, tambrin music, and the reel and jig dances are native Tobago traditions. The midyear Tobago Heritage Festival is the signature event showcasing these arts.

Harvest Festivals

Vibrant village harvest and fisherman’s festivals are at the core of community life, approached with a vigorous sense of togetherness and thanksgiving. From the first weekend of the year to the last, villages take turns hosting a harvest. It starts with a church service after which everyone returns home to cook. By late evening, friends and people from other villages go round to each house tasting meals fit for a king: stewed pork, stewed chicken, curried crab, dumpling, cassava and much more. Visitors are welcome to join in this community affair.

Nightlife

Happy hours offer a great way to kick your evening off. Try Sundowners Bar with sunset views of Store Bay, while the Pavilion and Seahorse Inn offer exquisite views of Stonehaven Bay.

Many locations, especially in the Crown Point area, offer a variety of nightly live entertainment. The Blue Haven Hotel near Scarborough features a guitarist Thursdays, pan on Fridays and a live band on Sundays. Original Caribbean paintings adorn the walls at Café Iguana where you can hear live jazz on Thursdays, a local band on Fridays, African drumming on Saturdays, and go Latin dancing on Sundays. Wednesday nights, head for the Golden Star where, in season, you can catch a variety show or the Scouting for Talent competition (followed by DJ music and dancing).

Friday and Saturday are big nights at The Shade nightclub, while Tobago’s other club, The Deep, is open every night. A multiplex cinema also opened at Gulf City Lowlands Mall in 2009.
 

Sunday School

Whatever else, every Tobago visitor should experience Sunday School. Each weekend in Buccoo, the Sunday School street party ensures revellers party their way into the new week. Vendors sell crafts, souvenirs and food as the Bucooneers play pan 9-11pm. After the pan, DJ music means dancing til’ morning.
 

More

• Crusoe Gems Performing Company: 639-5997
• Hands of Rhythm (African & folk drumming): 639-9220
• Itsy Bitsy Folk Theatre (Mt Pleasant): 639-9006, 681-8865
• Pembroke Folk Performers: 774-4683
• Royal Sweet Fingers Tambrin Band: 639-5634
• Rhythmic Vibrations (Scarborough): 639-7672
• Signal Hill Alumni Choir (director, John Arnold): 639-1103
• Youth Quake (Scarborough): 772-4440
• D’Art Yard (Crown Point): 631-8312
• Genesis Nature Park & Art Gallery (Goodwood): 660-4668
• The Art Gallery (Lowlands): 639-0457
• The Castle (Bethel): 639-0257
• Tobago Museum (Fort King George, Scarborough): 639-3970

Tobago traditions

• Moriah Wedding: signature Tobago Heritage Festival event, featuring groom in stovepipe hat and tailcoat and bride with trousseau on head, processing slowly with the distinctive three-step “brush back”
• Tambrin: quintessential Tobagonian music, driven by three shallow goatskin tambrin drums (high pitched cutter, roller, and boom bass), fiddle, and steel triangle. Accompanies social events
• Reel, Jig and Saraka: indigenous dances from Pembroke, with roots in West African rituals invoking the ancestors, and accompanied by tambrin music. Libations are still offered at the beginning of reels. Saraka feast held in Pembroke during Tobago Heritage Festival
• Speech bands: Tobago Carnival tradition, featuring cast of costumed characters speechifying in rhyme

 

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