On September 5, a landmark gathering of music industry stakeholders from three of Saint Lucia’s most iconic musical traditions — calypso, soca and Dennery segment music — convened at Castries City Hall to advance a long-discussed goal: creating a single, legally recognized organization to unify and advocate for artists and industry professionals across all three genres.
The meeting drew a diverse cross-section of the island’s music community, including veteran calypso and soca performers, sitting and former genre administrators, and working artists from across the country. Discussion centered on longstanding gaps in collective representation for the three interconnected genres, with attendees expressing overwhelming support for a unified body that would centralize advocacy, protect artist interests, and advance the growth of Saint Lucia’s homegrown music industry.
The initiative has already earned high-level backing from key cultural and industry leaders. Ernest Hilaire, Saint Lucia’s Minister for Creative Industries, publicly endorsed the effort, alongside Martin James, chairman of the Eastern Caribbean Collective Organisation for Music Rights (ECCO), and Thaddeus Antoine, a noted copyright attorney and chairman of the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority. Veteran industry figure Caron Tobiere, a founder of the island’s previous calypso association, was selected to lead the new steering committee tasked with moving the project forward, while local music leader Linda Chocolate chaired the September 5 convening.
Attendees reached consensus on several core founding decisions during the meeting. First, members formally committed to establishing a democratically selected, legally registered representative body. For the interim, the group will retain the name SLCA2009, with a plan to adopt a new official title that explicitly reflects the inclusion of all three genres — calypso, soca and Dennery segment music — in the near future.
A five-member constitutional review committee was appointed to revise and update the organization’s governing framework. Once the committee completes its initial draft, the document will be open to feedback from all participating stakeholders before a revised version is presented at the next general members’ meeting scheduled for September 10. At that upcoming gathering, members will also formalize procedures and timelines for the final election of the new organization’s full leadership board.
In addition to laying the groundwork for the unified representative body, the committee will also support the planning of a major cultural milestone: Saint Lucia’s first-ever Calypso Exhibition, scheduled to open September 28, 2026, at Castries City Hall, marking a key step in preserving and celebrating the island’s rich calypso heritage for future generations.