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“Longest reigning Monarch,” with an agenda to fiercely protect and strengthen the calypso and soca artform with tooth and nails, as similar to the manner in which lions protect their cubs and territory, is Terri Lyons. As intense as they protect their prides (groups of lions), Lyons said it’s necessary for her to do the same with her pride—monarch, character, name, brand and family. While research reveals, lions are becoming less populated as humans encroach on the natural spaces for varied types of human expansion, Lyons said she intends to remain very present and relevant for life, and so, she has decided to honour her fans’ request and their belief in her ability to host her own concert.
Lyons elaborated: “I always had it in my head, but always doubted myself because my journey hasn’t been easy. I actually thought I needed to have a lot of hit songs first, not knowing that people were listening to me and following me all this time, so I decided to put on my true big-girl shoes and have one—one of many to come, God spares life. And here I am, gearing up to let out a most thunderous roar at my first-ever concert: I Am Lion–The Concert.”
Lyons plans to burst the seams of the amphitheatre at Naparima Bowl on November 20 from 6pm.
“All the lion tamers and Lyons lovers can actually arrive at 5pm when gates open.”
Lyons started to fulfill her love for singing at age nine, and while she cannot recall what that maiden song was, she clearly recalls Shake It Off, the one she delivered at her first competition as written by then calypsonian, Tallest, that gained her the crown for the school she attended and represented, Nelson Street Girls R.C. The song referred to drugs and bad company, she said.
Multi-genre-artiste Lyons named some of her outstanding crowd pleasers: Can’t Stop Moving, which was remixed with Jamaican dancehall king, Beenie Man; I Am Lion, written by diva soca artiste, Nadia Batson; Fling Bam written by Problem Child; and calypsos, Obeah, Meghan My Dear and The Phrase. While Lyons music’s scored by “the great” Atiba Williams, she said she writes her own music. “Especially calypsos, I know how I want them to sound, so I may add, rewrite stuff, change melodies – change to suit.”
Still reigning as calypso monarch from 2020 – the last in-person competition– the “melanin to the world” and fashion-forward diva on stage, is also two-time Calypso Young Queen 2nd-place winner. Loving family “to the bone,” Lyons is daughter of 10-time Road March winner and seven-time Soca Monarch winner, SuperBlue (Austin Lyons) – the chief lion who will shake his mane at the concert, sibling of four, and mother.
