May 28, 2025 – After the steel band excitement at Baker’s Corner in The Point on the weekend, The Road to Panorama 2025 moves into the pan yard.  

And the defending champion, with the most panorama wins in Antigua and Barbuda’s history, the Hells Gate Steel Orchestra rolls the drums out on May 29, 2025, at the pan yard on Bay Road, just above the Antigua & Barbuda Port Authority.

The nation’s oldest and most successful steel orchestra continues to set the trend for the movement in Antigua and Barbuda.  If you want to play with Hells Gate for Panorama 2025, sign up via their website https://www.hgso.ag. In fact, most anything you want to know about the band is available there.

While the focus is now Panorama 2025, Hells Gate is already signaling that the tune of choice will be at the core of community mental health activities beyond the Carnival Season. This was signalled by the band’s arranger, Khan Cordice, when he shared with the audience in the prelude to the release of the tune during the Hells Gate Launch event. 

The fraternity’s baby, Pandemonium Steel Orchestra, is using social media as a point of contact for those interested in joining the band for Panorama 2025. Practice begins May 30, 2025, at their pan yard just behind the Golden Grove School.

Panache Steel Orchestra begins Panorama practice sessions on June 1, 2025, at their pan yard next to the Police Grounds on Factory Road. The cost starts to rack up from night one of panorama preparations. Captain Maurisha Potter of the Panache Steel Orchestra shared the financial challenges of preparing for the annual Panorama event. She began positively regarding the band’s annual Mother’s Day fundraiser. She stated, “We just concluded our concert, which was sold out, so that was a great, great thing. It was amazing. So, we jumped out of the concert, straight to the panorama preparation. We’re real, real tired but we’re pushing.”

When asked about the terms of financial support, Captain Potter quipped, “It’s bad! Funds are needed for tuning and buying more pans.” Given the band’s financial constraints, pans are borrowed from other bands not entering the competition, which helps. She continued, “Not only that, refreshments as well, the welding, the repairs, everything in between; it is very, very costly.”

Captain Potter’s statements regarding the financial needs to support preparations for the 2025 panorama resonate with all the steel bands. Conservative estimates suggest that a minimum of EC$100,000 is required per band to establish the basics.

How can we assist? Visit your favourite pan yard and drop off some refreshments or a financial contribution of any amount. Based on feedback from several bands, the young people who dominate most of the bands prefer seasoned rice, chicken (fried or baked), bread, and most relishes. Let’s get behind a band and push them to the stage.

The steel bands are moving into the pan yard, preparing for a record-breaking Panorama 2025!! 

In our next feature, we head down to Grays Green, the other pan mecca in Antigua and Barbuda, to catch up with Halcyon Steel Orchestra and West Side Symphony.