Steel Band Keeps Summer Spirit Strong At St. Luke’s

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Arts Council of Greater New Haven

Lisa Yarbor and members of St. Luke’s Steel Band

New Haven, Connecticut, USA - Gloria Rogers stepped to the beat from the back of the audience towards where her two friends, Mary Lopes and Mary Freeman, were dancing in their seats. She leaned down to say something, and a moment later, all three women were on their feet, heading in different directions through the audience. Within minutes, the audience would be on its feet.

On Friday night, a Whalley Avenue parking lot transformed into a Caribbean oasis with the colorful melodies of the St. Luke’s Steel Band and the sound of laughter from strangers coming together to dance.

....“The most important thing for me is the instrument,” said director Kenneth Joseph, who hails from the instrument’s home of Trinidad and Tobago.

....The free concert, which featured 16 performers of the sometimes-25-person band, began around 7 p.m.


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