Four-time Panorama champions Republic Bank Exodus Steel Orchestra will not be able to change its tune of choice for the Panorama final according to a unanimous decision of Pan Trinbago.
However, Exodus’ manager Ainsworth Mohammed said the band will be taking Pan Trinbago to court to challenge its decision.
On Tuesday, Exodus’ management decided it was changing its tune of choice from Austin “Super Blue” Lyons’ Rag Storm to Kees Dieffenthaller’s Savannah Grass following a poor showing in the semifinal on Sunday.
The nine-member Pan Trinbago executive lead by President Beverley Ramsey-Moore met on Wednesday to discuss the situation and voted that it was too late for the band to do so now.
The Panorama management committee was also part of the meeting and voted unanimously barring Exodus from making the change.
Ramsey-Moore said there was no rule expressly stating that a band was allowed or prevented from changing its Panorama tune of choice.
She said in light of this ambiguity it was then left up to the executive to decide whether or not it would be allowed.
“We have had the meeting and we have taken the decision not to allow Exodus to change its tune at this stage of the competition,” Ramsey-Moore told Guardian Media.
“Exodus has asked to change the song and they have done that based on the silence of the Panorama rules. The rules are silent on that and does not say a band cannot change its song, but the rule also does not say that a band can change their song,” she said.
“The rule also states that where the rule is silent the executive committee can take a decision on it,” Ramsey-Moore said.
Ramsey-Moore said the possibility of a band changing its Panorama tune of choice is something that Pan Trinbago will look at, but not at this stage of the competition.
The Panorama finals will to take place on March 2, at the Queen’s Park Savannah.
Ramsey-Moore said Pan Trinbago’s Secretary communicated the decision to Exodus.
All bands were given a deadline of January 2, to state what their tune of choice for Panorama 2019 would be, Ramsey-Moore said.
Exodus asked for an extension of that deadline and officially submitted Rag Storm as their choice on January 17.
Mohammed said the band got legal advice on Tuesday before it made the decision to change its tune of choice to Savannah Grass.
Speaking to Guardian Media, Mohammed confirmed that the band was verbally informed of Pan Trinbago’s decision and has already started drafting legal documents to challenge it.
“We are going to court over this. We are taking them to court,” Mohammed said.
Exodus players started practising the Savannah Grass on Tuesday.
The band also informed Lyons and his manager Tony Chow Lin On on Tuesday about the decision to change tunes.