The Style & Vibes Podcast
The Style & Vibes Podcast
End of Summer Vibes: Sizzla Concert and Barbados Crop Over
Cheers to a great summer! Sharing my last few events of an unforgettable summer. After seeing Buju Banton in concert, I kept the fire blazing at Sizzla's concert in Hartford, Connecticut. Then jetted with friend for my first Barbados Crop Over experience. Meticulously planned adventure with the help of Sha of Tingz Nice, Global Carnivalist, and Bahamianista. Join me as I recount the vibrant parade, playing mas with Krave band, and the unforgettable events, all while soaking in the rich culture and beauty of Barbados.
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Hello and welcome to another edition of the Silent Vibes podcast with yours truly Makayla. If you are new here, welcome to the family. If you are returning, welcome back family. And it's kind of like a big return because I kind of took an impromptu time off for a little bit in the summertime. So I know we have been dropping some re-released episodes all summer because, you know, kind of wanted to enjoy the summer a little bit.
Speaker 1:As you guys know, I've been out and about and you know the rest of the summer was no different in the sense that I also got to see Sizzla in concert as well as experience Barbados Crop Over Festival for the first time. So this episode is a solo episode. It is talking about those two events. So I think let's jump right in. So I'm going to start in chronological order, because I did boo-joo you guys heard the episode on that one already and Sizzler was also here in the States. He got back his visa so he was able to perform here in the States. So I got to see him in my home state of Connecticut. I am very close to New York, so I tend to be in New York a lot. However, I did see him here in Connecticut, in Hartford, at the West Indian Social Club. So that was, of course, a really great experience.
Speaker 1:They have an inside ballroom, if you will like, they have a whole inside setup, but this was actually outside. So the feel of the concert was very nostalgic, of like the outdoor stage show, and we got there a little early because, you know, when it's a standing only venue you got to kind of pick your right spot, and so we picked a spot close to the stage, but not right directly in front, but kind of to the right. You know me as a girl more. I know when we exit there just in case something pop off, more I make sure me know my surroundings. So we were close to the bar. The bar was set up on the left-hand side and it was such a simple setup it was literally an open dirt pierced, like a real old school party festival, you know and they had the fence for the VIP section and so they were right in front of the stage with some tables. You actually could purchase a table. So we ended up getting a table because it was fairly inexpensive and it was easier to kind of rally behind a table, you know. So at least you can rest your drinks and, you know, just kind of surround the table and secure your spot within the crowd. So that was nice. Of course it's like outdoor bathroom somewhere. You know didn't like that too much.
Speaker 1:However, you know I am someone who enjoyed the entire vibes of the scenery. So, to start off, since we got there early, there were a couple of DJs that played. I was really surprised at how many DJs they had, because they had like maybe six. So I got there maybe around like 7, 30 ish, eight o'clock, um, and sizzling came on around 11, um and had one hour of opening acts. We'll get to that later. But I was surprised that the amount of djs that played I mean, if you're thinking about it, that's like maybe a two hour time span of spinning. So it was maybe about four or five djs that played in that time span and then some of them were playing repeat songs.
Speaker 1:But I love the early warm segment of any kind of event. For me that's my favorite because you get to hear some of the classics, some of the new stuff and it really does kind of warm up the crowd a bit. So the DJs did a pretty good job at entertaining the crowd until we got to the performance section. So I think this was one of the first longstanding concert events that I have been to, probably since COVID, I can't really recall. So you know, like standing for a long time you're like I need a seat, you know. So that was pretty interesting and you could have brought in your chairs. So I didn't really think about that. But I also, when it's a standing crowd and then you're sitting and people are standing around you, it feels a little claustrophobic and weird. So I really don't like that set up either. So I definitely wore my sneakers so that, you know, I make sure my cast done up as long as possible. But because I was dancing, I was fine for most of the time.
Speaker 1:But then when the opening acts really came on, that's when I kind of was like all right, I might have wanted to sit down at that point just to kind of take in those artists. And not that they were not good, they were actually really, really good. I think it was just hard to go from a party vibe setting to opening acts of songs that you've never heard, and there were about four or five of them, and I love hearing new artists, but it was just late at night. We were anxious to see Sizzla. So I think, coupled with that energy, had it been that they came on a little bit earlier and even intertwined them with the changing of the the selectors that were playing, they would have been sprinkled in throughout the evening, versus just having this high energy party set and then going to opening acts which most had never heard of. They were really good, so it did a disservice to their talent as well, because there were a couple that I wrote down, um, in terms of just knowing who they are, because and then they had like a good number of songs. So most times if you're opening an act, you do maybe like one or two songs. I think all of the artists did at least three, if not five or six. So that's a lot to hear from new artists whom you've never heard from. However, I did appreciate that the selection of artists were really good. If I can remember their names, I will most definitely link them. I think I wrote some of them down or I have it in a video. So I'm going to put together like a little video clip to take you guys along with me for the experience we had such a good time, so you guys can kind of check out some of those artists as well.
Speaker 1:I haven't seen Sizzlin' in a really, really, really long time and Sizzle is one of those artists that have such a really great catalog of songs that he doesn't really need to release anything too new, but he does on a consistent basis. I was so excited coming off of the Buju concert to see Sizzla but I was excited to see Sizzla before anyway but his energy level, oh my gosh, was so unmatched. It was so good. He performed with such conviction and he didn't have a band, so he was really good without a band and he was super energetic. Clarity, oh my gosh, the clarity of his delivery of all of his songs and he did everything. He he did not rinse anything, he played each song and he pull it up and rewind. I'll come again for some of them because we got so many big forwards for that night.
Speaker 1:The crowd was really into it and I got to hear some of my favorite Sizzlers tunes Black Woman and Child Oman, I Need you. You know all of the songs that we know and love. And then, of course, he had his dance off segment with Pum Pum, pum. So we got all aspects of Sizzla that night and he really seemed to enjoy the crowd. He was enjoying himself and we were enjoying him as he was performing. So I thought it was such a great, great show.
Speaker 1:So if Sizzla is performing in a city near you, make sure you check him out. By the time that this release, the concert will have already happened with a full band. If I thought this through, I probably should have went to go see that show too, because the show was so good that I would see it twice, like it was that good, he's just that good. So big up Sizzla Kalanji. I'm so glad that I went. If he is in your area, please go see him. And I'm trying to like think I enjoyed both. But Sizzla was just, you know, such a vibe and I don't know if it was because it was outdoor, the entire setting, the scenery, a little bit more than my Buja concert. But the Buja concert was actually really good. The Buja concert was actually really good. So if you can get to see those two artists, make sure you do that, because, one, they're veterans, legends. Two, you don't know when the next time they're going to be here. And three, you know it's a good vibe if you know the catalog.
Speaker 1:So on to my experience at Barbados Crop Over. No, I did not see Rihanna. That was probably the number one question that I got from a lot of people as I was sharing, you know, stories during my trip on my personal page. However, I did not see Rihanna. I did enjoy her home country, though, like it was a good time. It was my first time in Barbados, first time playing um mass at crop over um in a costume, so it was such a great experience.
Speaker 1:I went for a week and I really have to shout out um Sha from Ting's Nice um Global Carnivalist and bohemianista, because, for one, sha has a carnival planning document that came in so handy if you're going to any carnival. It's a great way to keep organized, because there's a lot of planning that goes into going to do carnivals specifically in any country. Um and and crop over lore was no different. You guys know I played in trinidad um a few years back, so I wanted to experience crop over and it did not disappoint. So, sha, thank you so much. I purchased her planner, which is digital, which you can also use to plan, and then Global Carnivalist and Bahamianista had such great reviews of their past experiences as well as recommendations that really helped in the planning process with my friends.
Speaker 1:I planned this with my friends, it was a collective, we all took part in the planning. So you know, having all of those resources well researched from where to stay, where, the area, the distance, how long, what to bring All of those things are something that are things that you can take into consideration if you are playing mass in a city or in a country that isn't your own. So they had some amazing, amazing resources for Crop Over and I took them to heart because a lot of the places and the bands that they kind of talked about and the parties and the events I did research them to see what was happening before we bought tickets and got into bands was happening before we bought tickets and got into bands. So, speaking of bands, we played with Crave and they are one of the major bands that do crop over as a festival. So what you get is your costume on the day of, as well as there's a drink truck and security on the road and so you're kind of in the parade and it's a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful costume. So we had a lot of fun. So big up to to crave, the crave band for the experience From a party's perspective.
Speaker 1:We didn't do too much of like official parties. I really wanted to leave space to do some exploration of other things. So I didn't pack our schedule with too many events and I'm so glad I didn't, because it allowed us to really just relax, enjoy some of the other elements of Barbados outside of Crap Over. So we went to Lush, which was at a private venue Beautiful, beautiful venue. I think. It was like a private home in their backyard. The setup was amazing. It was in the evening, overlooking like these hills, and what I really enjoyed is that you drove to this parking lot and they had like a mini party. It's like an open bus that takes you to the actual venue, so like the vibe starts as soon as you get on the bus and then you get off and you get your cup and you go to the bar. It wasn't all inclusive, so we did buy drinks but you did get the memorabilia of the cup and then they had this headband of something with lights. So it was really nice, the crowd was really nice, it was fun and we had a really really good time as a group. And you know that's always hard. You know, collectively Everyone has different boundaries and things like that that you have to kind of consider, and we all had a really, really, really good time.
Speaker 1:The other event that we officially went to was Dutty Mess, which is a juve party. It was raining, so I'm not opposed to the rain and I thought that it was fine and it was really a Dutty Mess, so I think that that kind of added to the element of the theme of the party. However, I feel like I was a little too old to be there. It might just be me and I enjoy juve, but I enjoy juve on the road, not necessarily in an enclosed party setting. I like that road experience. So if I were to do it again and do that differently, I think I would either stick to some of the parties or just do they have a four day, they call it four day morning. So we didn't want to do both, and so I would do four day morning instead of a juve party. But that's just me.
Speaker 1:The other thing that I really mentioned is really enjoying Barbados as a whole, and we really got to do that. We went to the beach, we went to different restaurants, we went to this boatyard, so all the beaches in Barbados are accessible to everyone so you don't have to pay to go onto the beach or get access to the beach. So I love that, because then there wasn't any crowding or anything like that. But boatyard they had a service where you could rent umbrellas and you can go out snorkeling and we did snorkeling so that was fun. And as we went out and we went into the water, I look under the water and there's like a shipwreck there. They talked about it on the boat ride out in the water. So I thought that that was pretty cool. I didn't dive to go and do enough, but it had a very Little Mermaid Ariel moment, because when the day and other people in water and I see the shipwreck and to eat, and it was definitely at a good price I highly recommend.
Speaker 1:We actually went back there again just to hang out because the food, the bar, was really good, the environment of the people that were there as well as the staff, it was really really nice. So we actually went to Boat Yard twice. We also went to Oyston's Fish Fry. So every Friday in this particular area they have what is called Oyston's Fish Fry and so we got food, we ate. It's like an outdoor market venue eating music, all kinds of music. So there were two sections. So we got there, we got something to eat and then we kind of went to this area where there was open area and people were dancing. There was a lot of country music line dancing happening. And then we go to the other side where they have this stage and they were playing a lot of like hip hop and reggaegae and dancehall.
Speaker 1:I was really surprised the amount of reggae and dancehall that I heard. I think in my mind, going for a crop over, I was prepared to hear a lot of soca, bashment soca and soca um that was native to Barbados, um but they really played a lot, a really huge mix, and even on the road they didn't just play new songs, they played older songs and they played stuff from Trinidad and stuff from Grenada and stuff from other islands. So I thought that that was really nice. But in my mind, preparing to hear Bashment Soka the most, and because we were doing other things, hearing a lot of other music and a lot, a lot of reggae, and so we enjoyed Oisin's Fish Fry on the Friday. I would definitely highly recommend that if you go back, and I think Global Carnivalist recommended that. So I was like, okay, well, I think we should do this. So that's, I took your, I took your recommendation. I took your recommendation.
Speaker 1:We also went to this place called Surfers Bay, which was almost like a bar, so in St Lawrence Gap. So St Lawrence Gap is like this area, where there are a lot of restaurants, bars, even some hotels in that area. So if you stay in a hotel in that area it's actually walkable to the different bars and restaurants. So I really enjoyed that. The Wicked Dancehall set, like it had early 2000s and late 90s dancehall set. It was good. The DJ I felt like the DJ was playing just for me because I was just having such a good time.
Speaker 1:We also went back to the dive that's where that was called. We went back there twice and then Surfers Bay was actually not in st lauren's gap. I I apologize, it was somewhere else and I can't remember where, but it was on this beautiful beach setting. It was like this whole open outdoor um venue and you can literally look out and see the water. You could go sit. They had some picnic tables, chairs, they had area where you could listen to the band that was playing or the DJ that was playing. They had a band and a DJ and you could eat, you know, have a drink. It was like so chill, like it was such a really, really, really good experience. From the beginning to the end. We stayed in an Airbnb because we had a bigger group, so that would work out if you have a big group. If not, you can stay in a hotel too. But I really had a good time in Barbados. I definitely want to go back. It was the perfect girls trip getaway.
Speaker 1:We enjoyed, you know, the festivities of Crop Over the excitement. We enjoyed going out to the different places and exploring and just relaxing on the beach. The beaches were absolutely beautiful. Everywhere we went, the water was gorgeous. It was definitely hot. It rained during Kadumet Kadumet is the day that they do their parade but it felt good Like you were just kept it moving because, yeah, it was hot. It was really, really hot. So make sure you prepare for that. Bring a fan. I forgot my fan and I regrettedted it. Those are some of the things to keep in mind, but I highly recommend, if you haven't been to Barbados, definitely go.
Speaker 1:I think the cultural vibe there is really enjoyable. Like I felt comfortable, like walking around, going from place to place and they really had such a variety of different things to do for you and a group of girlfriends, or if you're going with significant other, or even family friendly. There was so much that we didn't get to do. We didn't really do like any sort of other touristy areas. We really just wanted to kind of go enjoy the vibes, catch a lick of wine and then come back over yad, and that's exactly what we did.
Speaker 1:So if you have not done crop over, make sure you add it to your bucket list. I highly recommend. I think you'd have a good time, build up your stamina figure. But, um, there's also plenty to do if you don't want to do all of the different festivities. There's so much to do, so make sure you guys check that out. Well, that is it for me. Thank you guys, so much for tuning in. I appreciate you all. I hope you guys had as an eventful summer as I had and if not, you can do it all over again very soon, god willing. And I want to hear from you Did you get to go to any of the concerts, festivals? What did you do? Make sure you guys are following us on our socials at Stylen Vibes and until next time later, my peeps.
Speaker 2:Thanks for listening to the latest episode of the Stylen Vibes podcast. If you like what you hear and I know you do share it with your friends and family. If you want more, make sure you visit styleandvibescom and follow us on our social channels, twitter and Instagram. At Style and Vibes. Until next time, leah Tommy peeps.
