Steel pans were invented in Trinidad and Tobago in the early 20th century when musicians discovered that the top of an oil drum could be hammered into a bowl shape with different dents, each producing a different note. Today, steel-pan music - often called 'pan' for short - is played across the Caribbean. In Antigua, iron bands have added their own local flavour, sometimes mixing in other percussion instruments made from whatever is at hand.
Calypso is a style of singing that began in the Caribbean and is famous for its witty, clever lyrics. Calypso singers comment on everyday life, community events, and funny situations using wordplay and storytelling. A great calypso song makes people laugh and think at the same time. Competitions at Carnival see singers face off to win the title of Calypso Monarch.
Soca developed from calypso in the 1970s and has a faster beat designed to get people dancing. The word 'soca' is short for 'Soul of Calypso'. At Antigua Carnival, soca music pours out of giant speaker towers in the streets, and thousands of people dance together in colourful costumes. It is one of the most joyful sounds in the world.
All three musical styles - iron band, calypso, and soca - carry the history and spirit of the Caribbean inside their rhythms. Learning to play a steel pan is something many Antiguan schoolchildren do, and hearing a full steel-pan orchestra for the first time is a sound people rarely forget.