Skyy Rock 2k16 Review

If you’re on the ground for the local rock scene you have probably heard whispers and rhoumors about this … “Rock Revival”. We may have found the first major event to catapult this revival in the Skyy Rock Festival.

Schmidt Entertainment’s second Skyy Rock promised a rock show like no other, at the Skyy View Lounge in San Fernando. Some of the best local bands in the country came together for one of the largest throw downs in Trinidad rock in quite some time.

The line up of heavy hitters was as follows:

Orange Sky
5 Miles to Midnight
Black Rose
The Supernormal Band
Goodnight Parliament
Alter Roots
Requiem
Cosmic Rebels
Bound to Oblivion
Devin Harry Paul the Band
Xinergy
Absence of I
Disaster’s Perfection (Formerly Far Away Fate)
Fly By Night
Tie Dye Kitty
Sidekick Envy

Spectral Vibes

That right there is a great mix of heavy metal with some lighter alternative rock mixed in so everyone could get their vibe, but before getting to the music, let’s talk about that venue. The Sky View lounge our opinion is a great spot for rock and even other genres of music, we guarantee it’s a great spot. On the scene was a swarm of rock paraphernalia and of course no rock show is complete without a tattoo shop. Something of note was the tight security, which we learned was a side effect of the security company owned by the promoters, so yuh safe!

On to the show! It’s not easy to sum up the show in one word, but epic does come to mind. They nailed the schedule with all the bands on stage in time and the majority crushed their performances, this really does speak a lot for the increased quality and diversity of local rock bands. The first few performances, though some were better than others did not have the crowd cheering, however as the night crept in so too did the moshers, alcohol likely played a role in this. By the time The Supernormal Band was on stage headbanging was in full effect with fans screaming BIG BIG GORILLA! Special mentions to Tie Dye Kitty, Alter Roots, Goodnight Parliament, The Supernormal Band, 5 Miles to Midnight and of course Orange Sky who in our opinion were the expected show stealers.

On stage were a few specials for the peeps in the crowd. Far away Fate announced their new band name Disaster’s Perfection. Supernormal threw out a new song that had everyone kicking themselves … literally. The Carib girls were up there too giving out the goods to some lucky trivia answering fans.

There were a few hiccups here and there with the audio and some equipment malfunctions particularly during the Tie Dye Kitty performance, but they powered through it, nothing that’ll cause a riot … MC Jose, Dj’s Glen, Shane and Poonie kept the crowd riveted during the short interruption.

All in all the event was well done, from Jose’s awesome MC commentary to all the band performances to the free shit from Carib and Monster, it’s good to see people in Trinidad taking the rock music scene seriously again. If this is the expectation for rock then this ought to be an interesting revival indeed. Big shout out to all the bands and to Schmidt Entertainment for putting together an awesome event, can’t wait for next year. 

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By Sean Doobay-Worrell

Co-Author Jesse Bonterre
REDM