Halcyon Steel – By Tahna Weston
Halcyon Steel Orchestra Marks
The Halcyon Steel Orchestra is celebrating its 55th anniversary this year with a series of community events and a firm declaration that the 13-time Panorama champions are coming after their crown — and putting every competing band on notice.
Lauckland “Punchin” Joseph, speaking on behalf of the Grays Green-based orchestra, said the 55th anniversary offers the band an opportunity to fulfill plans that were curtailed during the 50th celebrations in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The milestone also comes after a period that brought both profound loss and significant achievement for the band.
The band lost two of its most beloved members between 2021 and now — legendary pan player Victor “Babu” Samuel in 2022 and Fitzroy “Blakey” Phillip, described by Joseph as another genius of the instrument, in 2023. Despite those losses, the orchestra has pressed forward, and the School of Pan has emerged as arguably its greatest achievement of the period, with students placing fourth on their competitive debut in 2024 before rising to first runner-up in 2025.
For the anniversary, the band is launching a series of pop-up performances across communities island-wide, which began at the Grays Green community basketball court.
Additional planned stops include, Point, Five Islands, and Willikies — the community associated with the late calypsonian Rupert “King Swallow” Philo — with further locations to be confirmed as plans are finalised.
The anniversary song played at the 50th celebrations five years ago holds a special place in the band’s history. Joseph recalled how it came about through a collaboration with Sir Paul “King Obstinate” Richards, drawing on a concept first used in 1982.
“Obstinate had that song 25 years of pan and it was sung in commemoration of Antigua’s 25th anniversary of carnival. That year, going into the competition, he had two reserve songs as part of his strategy to go up against Short Shirt and Swallow. He had two songs he was either going to sing, 25 years of pan or Fat Man Dance.
“But fast forward to 2021, when we needed a song for our theme song, all I did was to use the same 25 concept, 50 years of pan, 50 broad years of pan, and change up the lyrics to suit the occasion. And just to see him producing that song, both the lyrics and everything, just seeing a master at work, real, real master…he is a genius,” Joseph said.
As the band looks ahead to this year’s Panorama competition, Joseph made it clear that the stakes could not be higher. Halcyon has won the championship in every decade since it first performed in 1971 — a streak that remains intact through the 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, and up to 2016. The 2020s, however, remain the one gap.
“We haven’t won in the 2020s yet, and it’s getting shorter. So, we want to keep that important streak alive. So, we’re coming hard this year. Everybody watch out,” Joseph cautioned.
