Trinidadian steel pan band for +233

The searing sound of  the steel pan instrument will reverberate at the +233 Jazz Bar and Grill in Accra when the  Roadblock Steel Orchestra from Trinidad and Tobago takes to the bandstand from 8.30 pm on Saturday, August 27. 

The group is on a West African tour and will also visit Togo, Benin and Nigeria. The tour is a collaboration between  Afrika House -Avery Ammon  of Trinidad and Tobago  and Tripod Marketing Management - Emelia Akumah   of Ghana and Dubai .

“West Africa is the land of our ancestors and the tour is to help foster development of cultural tourism and exchange between the Carribean and West Africa,” a spokesperson for Roadblock said. 

The steel pan, national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago, is made from drums that previously contained oil and similar substances. It is struck using a pair of straight sticks tipped with rubber. Some players use four pansticks, holding two in each hand.

Roadblock’s visit would be the appearance of a steel pan band at +233.  The Couva Joylanders, also from Trinidad and Tobago, played at the venue in April 2011 and featured highlife star, Paapa Yankson. They came back in September 2013 and had Abrantie Amakye Dede as their special guest. 

A special attraction at the upcoming concert would be the rendition of  some carefully-rehearsed Ghanaian pieces by Roadblock.