Kobo Town

International touring band named after the historic neighborhood in Port‐of‐Spain where calypso was born from the boastful, humorous chants of roaming stick‐fighters. A site of defiance and conflict, Kobo Town was a place where sticks and stones, songs and verses clashed with the bayonets and batons of colonial rule. As the name suggests, Kobo Town explore the rich lyrical tradition and compelling rhythms of calypso's formative years ‐ the age of the Roaring Lion, Mighty Spoiler, Lord Invader, King Radio and Attila the Hun ‐ while demonstrating the contemporary relevance of their art by engaging the pressing concerns of our time. Domestic violence, the war on Iraq, the paradoxes of globalization, the ongoing state of Caribbean dependency, and the bittersweet experience of immigration are all treated within their wide and varied repertory.