The Harriet Tubman Institute’s BHM 2023: Calypso as Music of Resistance

Roger Gibbs is a Calypso and Caribbean Acoustic singer / guitarist and recording artist, originally from Barbados. He was a performing member of COBA (Collective of Black Artists) from 1995 to 2013, one of Canada’s leading dance/theatre companies. He recorded two solo albums – ‘Spirit of Calypso’ (1999), ‘Calypso Classics on Guitar – Vol 1. (2005)’, and two albums with his band Shak Shak titled ‘Hot So’ (2012) and ‘Shak Shak Party’ (2017). He also recorded a collection of Bajan and original folk songs with his brother John Gibbs titled ‘BIM – Folk Songs of Barbados’. He was a founder and first Artistic Director of Calypso Stars at Harbourfront Centre – the largest annual concert of new Canadian Calypso. In 2013, Roger received a special award from the Toronto Caribbean Carnival for his outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Calypso in Canada.