Controversy is brewing ahead of tonight’s Party Monarch competition, with unconfirmed reports suggesting Tian Winter may not perform as scheduled.
Sources close to the competition told Observer that Winter is adamant that he should be allowed to perform with his full band, ‘Iconic’– contrary to the rules that allow each performer to be supported by only three musicians.
The Allstar Band is the act slated to accompany all of the competitors.
Winter took the same stance ahead of Thursday’s Caribbean Melting Pot concert, as local artistes were reportedly told they could not perform with bands, only with a backing track or the ‘house band’.
This is despite the fact international performers were apparently given the green light to have their bands in action.
‘The Winter Man’ – as he is sometimes referred to – insisted that he would not be performing if his Iconic band was not allowed on stage, and aired his grievances via social media.
This disgruntlement reportedly prompted a U-turn from the Caribbean Melting Pot organisers, and the soca star took to the stage with his band.
It is unclear whether the organisers of Party Monarch are prepared to make a similar concession, but that seems unlikely as the competition rules have been in place for several years.
If Winter does backtrack and performs as scheduled, he will take on artistes including Claudette Peters, Drastic, Ge’Eve, Menace XL and Zamoni in the ‘groovy’ and ‘jumpy’ segments.
Several attempts to contact Winter were unsuccessful up to news time.