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One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain, Robert Nesta Marley sang.
The icon’s poetry was inspired by the deprivation of those living in Trench Town and other large socially and economically depressed communities in Kingston, Jamaica during the 1960s and 1970s. The enduring form that is reggae emerged from those alleyways of dispossession and marginalisation to soothe and heal not only its inhabitants but all peoples of the world. It is telling that in these modern times of globalisation, technology and assorted individual and collective dysfunctions, we continue to invoke Mr Marley’s words for their relevance and poetic truths.
From Trench Town Rock in Jamaica of 1971 to pan music in T&T of 2025, the call is the same: music unlocks empathy, compassion, healing and love. It is direction for lost souls whose experience of the art form in turn makes healers of them. Each year that passes in T&T, as the society slides downhill, more and more strategies are voiced, some implemented, few successful in stemming the decline. But before us there was music and the effect of it on the human soul is enough to transform any world.
Music significantly impacts young people by providing a means for emotional expression, a catalyst for learning and development, and it is a powerful tool for social connection and comfort. Renowned figures emphasise its profound ability to transcend words, foster intellectual and emotional growth, and serve as a universal language that builds empathy and understanding.
As we prepare to celebrate World Steelband Day on August 11—indeed the entire month will be dedicated to the sounds of steel—these are useful reminders to our leaders who continue to look “outside” more than they look inwards. Notwithstanding the impact of the national instrument abroad, it is within T&T society that we see it is most needed.
Pan Trinbago president Beverley Ramsey-Moore reports that countries are seeking our guidance on pan governance as the organisation strengthens its influence beyond the region. National Carnival Commission (NCC) chair Peter Kanhai is proud to join “the global family of the steelpan members” and elevating T&T “as the cradle of this beloved instrument” while Education Minister Dr Michael Dowlath celebrates Guinness world record holder Joshua Regrello, who played his instrument for 31 consecutive hours.
But why we have not been able to harness this instrument in ways that benefit more of our young people and thus transform the tenor of a T&T boiling over with inequity and social dysfunction is a question that should not go unaddressed during steelpan month. President Christine Kangaloo’s recently concluded steelpan camp is noteworthy but is one small instalment towards deploying the instrument en masse in service of national upliftment.
Mr Kanhai seemed to understand the assignment when he said that “children who are involved in the steelpan movement…seldom find themselves in the midst of behaviour trouble, and they do very well at their educational pursuits.”
Well, here’s an antidote to our violent national profile. Let us make the most of it.
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