The Merry-Makers Steel Band

The Merry-Makers steel band play soothing Caribbean steel pan music guaranteed to transport you to the most idyllic tropical beach scenario!

The band have a collection of upbeat songs spanning soca, calypso, Latin, Zouk and reggae (Bob Marley, Eddie Grant, UB40, Desmond Dekker etc) plus a large selection of Caribbean standards.

The band's most popular line-up is a duo or trio. These line-ups consist of steel pans, often combined with another instrument, such as keyboards or guitar.

These line-ups perform non-intrusive background music perfect for garden parties and afternoon receptions, where music required to provide atmosphere without drowning out conversations.

For evening events where dancing is a must, the band can expand to include drums, bass, guitar, vocals, percussion and of course steel pans. This array of instruments helps to bring about the full, broad sounds and rhythms of the band's repertoire: the Latin vibes, the dancehall carnival music, funky reggae, the hypnotic and the percussive limbo dancing beats.

As an optional extra, the Merry-Makers can provide their very own limbo dancer, a lithe male or female limbo dancer from St Lucia, to demonstrate the limbo and encourage audience participation.

The band are audience is encouraged to get involved in some "suggestive and slinky" Caribbean party dances and finish off with the limbo poles for an interactive session – guaranteed to get both the timid and the bold on to the dance floor!

The Merry-Makers have played for a variety of events at many prestigious venues, one of the most notable of these being The Bahamian High Commission.

The band are guaranteed to take you across the Caribbean and back in one night! Great fun and a totally tropical ambience!

Workshops

The band also run workshops in varying line-ups and for all age groups, and sessions can include:

• Steelpan - learning and playing.

• Evolution of the steel drum - discussions on the origins of this highly unique instrument, its role in carnival and its position as a catalyst for social change.

• Films of Trinidad carnival plus discussions on its origins and developmentDiscussions on the origins of the Rastafari movement, and its position in Caribbean music and culture.

• Rastafari drumming is one of the most captivating and exotic percussive styles in the Caribbean.

• Live Music with Trinidadian Calypsonians, Jamaican Folk singers, Jing Ping music from Dominica, plus Indo-Caribbean music from Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana (see and hear the rich variety of cultural styles in the Caribbean).