Abijah replaces I-Pa as Leader of On Tour Calypso Tent

Elvis “Abijah” Abbey was on Saturday February 3, 2024, elected as the new president of the On Tour Calypso Tent. He takes over the helm from Grantley ‘I-Pa’ Constance who has headed the Tent for more than two decades.

Abijah told SEARCHLIGHT on Monday that he wants to see more youths engaged in the calypso art form, noting that a collaborative effort must be employed to win over youths.

“Without young people there is no continuity for the art form…there’s Ministry of Culture, there’s radio stations, they have to expose more young people to calypso music.”

The calypso veteran said that younger persons are more exposed to Dancehall and Soca music over Calypso.

Abijah shared plans that his tent will be hosting auditions as well as other campaigns in efforts to get more young people involved in calypso.

The new president who was previously the treasurer of the tent said he feels challenged being in this new position but “I’ve been around”. He added that calypso as a whole is currently facing financial challenges and tent space, “so I have to hit the ground running, along with other executives and get things in place because On Tour is the leading tent in calypso in terms of production.”

Abijah has been involved in calypso since 1986 delivering a number of social commentary pieces.

Outgoing tent leader,  I-Pa who has been at the helm for more than 25 years told SEARCHLIGHT that he was feeling tired and overburdened by the responsibility of being president, noting that “The burden of responsibility has taken a toll on me- just need to take a timeout this year and look at it from a different perspective”.

He said that now he will have a bit more time to focus on music production.