PCS Nitrogen Silver Stars. Photos: Sheldon Osborne

Pan lovers enjoyed the second and final installment of NAPA Fest’s Pop meets Steel last Sunday evening. A total of 13 bands played at the two-night event held at the National Academy of the Performing Arts (NAPA) auditorium in Port-of-Spain.

These pan enthusiasts enjoyed the final six bands: La Horquetta Pan Groove, Petrotrin Phase II Pan Groove, Courts Sound Specialists of Laventille, BP Renegades, TCL Group Skiffle Bunch, and PCS Nitrogen Silver Stars. The bands delivered even more than what was promised: They played a skillful mixture of calypso, classical, popular international music, and even chutney and other forms of East Indian music. La Horquetta Pan Grove opened the show with Pan in A Minor, Brazil, La Bamba, Raghin, and Baghi Bi. Petrotrin Phase II Pan Groove followed with Moon River, Besame Mucho, Theme from Exodus, Lovers After All, and Pan Army.

TCL Group Skiffle Bunch.

Then, it was the turn of Courts Sound Specialists of Laventille playing their version of Pan in A Minor and mixing it with Morning Dance, Can We Talk, Surrender, Unfaithful, and Alicia Keys’ popular Empire State of Mind, which drew an enthusiastic response from the audience. BP Renegades also delivered Pan in A Minor, mixing that with I Surrender, Pint O Wine, and Lionel Richie’s All Night Long.

Closer to the end of the show, Skiffle Bunch kept the audience in a lively mood with Ra-na-he-na Ra-na-he-ham, with vocals in Hindi by Nadia Madoo. Skiffle Bunch mixed that crowd pleaser with How Do I live Without You, I Look to You, Amperica Roca Georgia, and Pan on Fire. PCS Nitrogen Silver Stars closed the show with Love Theme, Bohemian Rhapsody, I Gotta Feeling, and Michael Jackson’s Bad. Silver Stars saved its best offerings for last, ending with two songs that are contributing to the bands surge in popularity—Phantom of the Opera, and Battle Zone.