Calypso music fans will get to see and hear the son of Trinidadian legend Lord Kitchener again Saturday night on the stage at the Lionel Roberts Stadium at Calypso Revue II. Or for the first time, if they weren't at the Calypso Revue I show Friday night.
After Friday's performance by Kernal Roberts that left the audience cheering, V.I. Carnival Committee chair Kenneth Blake announced that the one-night-only engagement of the Grandmaster's son had been extended.
The committee dedicated this year's Calypso Revues to the memory of Aldwyn Roberts, known worldwide as Lord Kitchener, who died in February at the age of 77. A calypso performer, composer and arranger for six decades, Kitchener became known as the Grandmaster among his musical peers. He was a perennial favorite at the V.I. Carnival showcase of international talent.
The calypso world isn't ready yet to say that the younger Roberts has inherited the mantle of his famed father, but if the St. Thomas audience is any gauge, that day may not be far off. As the 40-ish calypsonian flashed a familiar smile and made the signature Kitchener moves, people in the audience who had watched Kitch perform for years threw up their hands and gasped. Trinidadian co-emcee Tommy Joseph commented at one point that this is what happens when you have children.
Appearing in the footlights just above a banner reading "In Memory of the Grandmaster Aldwyn Roberts, Lord Kitchner 1922-2000," the younger Roberts launched into the dance steps and gestures that were the hallmarks of his father's showmanship. Dressed in a maroon suit with matching tie and a felt fedora, he transformed his personna into that of the beloved Kitch. As he performed three numbers, including a song introduced in January shortly before his father's death, many in the crowd burst into cheers and clapped their encouragement.
"It's good to be onstage carrying on for Daddy," Roberts said between numbers, "but when the master calls, all must come."
Backstage, Roberts talked about his own musical career in Trinidad. He had been performing as a drummer, he said, but, when his father died a few weeks before Trinidad's Carnival, he decided to don the suit and the hat and perform his father's song that had already been produced for this year's celebration.
"After Daddy passed, I decided to follow in Daddy's footsteps for the rest of his years and the rest of my years, carrying on in his footsteps," he said.
Roberts said he refined his performance on the stage in Trinidad and is now booked for year-round tours as the "Son of Kitchner."
He had contracted to perform only on Friday in Lionel Roberts Stadium because his band had an engagement Saturday night back home. However, he said Friday night, the other members gave their consent for him to miss the gig and stay on for the second St. Thomas show, with other musicians agreeing to play the drums Saturday night.
For a review of Friday's overall show, click on Other stuff.
