September 19, 2026 | National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA) | Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
The Corriverton Co. | After the Makers
What does it mean to carry home?
Home Carried is rooted in a simple idea: wherever we go, we carry elements of where we come from. Our food, language, music, traditions, values, and ways of seeing the world travel with us, shaping how we live and connect with others across borders. For Caribbean people, this cultural inheritance does not stop at the shoreline. It moves with us into the diaspora, evolves across generations, and becomes part of the places we call home.
For The Corriverton Co., documenting the 2026 Caribbean Music Awards was an opportunity to witness this cultural continuity in motion. At NAPA in Port of Spain, music brought together artists and audiences from across the Caribbean and beyond, demonstrating how sounds rooted in individual territories can resonate across an entire region and throughout the diaspora.
Music does not remain in one place. It transcends geography, generations, and time. As Bob Marley famously sang, “When the music hits you, you feel no pain.”
But our story began before the red carpet.
From the streets to the stage
With nearly a decade of documentary storytelling experience, we have learned that some of the most meaningful cultural stories begin in ordinary encounters. Our coverage started at the airport, where taxi driver Kevin introduced us to Trinidad and Tobago through conversations about its history, culture, food, and music.
He shared his love for calypso and the enduring legacy of the late Mighty Sparrow. As we traveled across the country, other taxi drivers spoke about soca, describing how the music could lift them out of a sad mood and bring them into a place of joy. These conversations reminded us that Caribbean music is not simply performed for audiences. It is woven into everyday life, carried through road journeys, family gatherings, celebrations, and the shared experiences of a people.
We also learned more about the steel pan, Trinidad and Tobago’s national instrument, and the musicians who continue to preserve its distinctive sound.
By the time we reached NAPA, we had already begun to understand the cultural significance of the evening ahead. The ceremony would celebrate the stars, but the people we encountered along the way had shown us the foundation beneath the spotlight.
The people behind the music
One of the most profound conversations we had on the red carpet was perhaps with Grenadian soca artist V’ghn. When asked about his plans for the next ten years, he spoke about taking life day by day, continuing to experiment with his music, and remaining grounded in his faith.
He stated a familiar expression “Man plans, God laughs,” it was a sobering reminder that achievement does not mean having every step of life figured out. Behind the music and recognition are people navigating uncertainty, guided by their beliefs, their experiences, and the things that keep them grounded.
Other artists spoke openly about the people who help sustain their journeys. Dominican Bouyon artist Khallion identified his wife as an essential source of support. Ras I spoke about his team and acknowledged the fans who motivate him to continue creating. Their reflections reminded us that before a song reaches an audience or an artist receives recognition, there is often a network of people providing encouragement, sacrifice, and support.
Music is a collective undertaking, even when a single name appears on the recording.
Carrying the influence of those who came before
The influence of Caribbean music’s greats was also evident in our conversation with Nesta, whose face lit up as he spoke about the reggae and lovers rock artists who shaped his musical journey, including Beres Hammond, Dennis Brown, and Maxi Priest.
These are more than names in a musical history. They represent traditions that continue to inform contemporary artists, demonstrating how one generation’s creativity becomes another generation’s foundation.
We saw this continuity in different forms throughout the evening. Trinidadian-American recording artist Aaron Fresh spoke to us with an infectious personality and a connection to his Caribbean roots, embracing a sound that brings together soca and R&B. Trinidadian dancehall artist Teflon reflected on his experience in the industry and the importance of being able to continue practicing his craft.
Guyanese soca singer Omaiah A. Hall was also present as a nominee, representing Guyanese talent within the wider Caribbean music community. Alongside artists working across dancehall, soca, reggae, Bouyon, Dennery Segment, and Chutney music, she represented the breadth of talent that makes Caribbean music so distinctive. These traditions have their own histories and identities, yet they continue to connect communities and travel beyond the places where they developed.
Faith, resilience, and knowing your worth
Several conversations carried messages that extended beyond music.
Guyanese artist Lola Dholl, a four-time Zest artist nominee, offered advice to young people who may struggle with other people’s opinions. Her message was to focus on their skills and talents, remain true to themselves, and consider what God says about them rather than allowing outside judgment to define their worth.
Her words spoke to the challenges that often accompany pursuing a creative path. Talent matters, but so does the determination to keep going when others do not understand or support the journey.
Shyne offered a similarly powerful message when we asked him to speak directly to young people across the Caribbean who possess talent but may lack the resources to pursue their dreams. Drawing on his own experiences and adversities, he encouraged them to put God first and never, ever give up.
These conversations revealed a recurring theme: behind public recognition are private struggles, personal beliefs, and the people and principles that help individuals continue forward.
A Caribbean identity that crosses borders
The Caribbean’s cultural connections extend beyond the islands themselves.
We spoke with Adesoga, whose connection to Trinidad and Tobago began through his mother’s migration there for educational opportunities. Through his family’s experience and his own travels between Africa and the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago became a place he considers home. He saw the Caribbean Music Awards as an opportunity for African audiences to recognize the connections between Africa and the Caribbean and to appreciate the African communities that form part of Caribbean life.
His story reflected the movement of people, histories, and identities that has shaped the region for generations. Home can be inherited, discovered, and carried forward in more than one place.
We also spoke with Nahilet Blackman’s aunt of Naila Blackman, who attended in support of the artist and her family’s contribution to Trinidad and Tobago’s soca music legacy. She reflected on the privilege of being born in Trinidad and Tobago and called for greater unity across the Caribbean. She also welcomed the prospect of the awards reaching other territories in the future.
Queen Omega described being in the room as a privilege, expressing her appreciation for sharing space with so many respected artists. Her reflection captured the significance of an event that brought different generations and musical traditions together in one place.
For these artists and supporters, Caribbean identity was not a single definition. It was a shared foundation shaped by individual experiences, family histories, and cultural ties that continue across borders.
The responsibility to carry the culture forward
One of the clearest expressions of cultural preservation came through our conversation with Hanif Goodridge, a steel pan player associated with Trinidad and Tobago’s MOTTCO steelband.
He recalled picking up the pan when he was young and finding the instrument unfamiliar in his hands. Twenty-one years later, he was performing at NAPA, entertaining the stars at a major celebration of Caribbean music.
His journey was a full-circle moment. The young person who once had to learn the instrument had become a musician helping carry its tradition forward.
But his contribution does not end with performance. Through teaching young people to play, he helps ensure that the next generation can experience and continue the legacy of Trinidad and Tobago’s national instrument.
A young videographer we interviewed expressed a similar responsibility from behind the camera. He spoke about the importance of ensuring that future generations know Caribbean music and understand its potential. For him, documenting and preserving the culture was not optional; it was part of his responsibility to those who would come after him.
These encounters reinforced something we believe deeply at The Corriverton Co.: cultural preservation requires participation. It means learning, teaching, documenting, performing, and creating opportunities for the next generation to carry the work forward.
What we carry forward
The 2026 Caribbean Music Awards was more than an evening of performances and recognition. It was an opportunity to witness Caribbean culture being carried regionally, from the everyday conversations of taxi drivers to the artists, musicians, and creatives whose work continues to shape the region’s sound.
We heard calypso and soca celebrated by the people who listen to them every day. We heard artists acknowledge their families, teams, fans, faith, and influences. We witnessed a young person’s early encounter with the steel pan become a lifelong musical practice. And we were reminded that the Caribbean’s musical identity is not confined to a single island, genre, or generation.
For us, documenting these stories means looking beyond the stage. It means preserving the voices, memories, and everyday experiences that give cultural achievements their meaning.
Music belongs to the people who make it, the people who listen to it, and the people who pass it on. It lives in the places where it began, but it also travels with those who leave, those who return, and those who discover it for the first time.
As The Corriverton Co., our role is to document these connections with care, honoring not only the achievements that receive recognition but also the people and traditions that make them possible.
The full 2026 Caribbean Music Awards ceremony is scheduled for its global premiere on Sunday, October 25, 2026, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, on the official Caribbean Music Awards YouTube channel. Additional streaming and television distribution is planned through TRACE+ and television partners in Caribbean markets.
As audiences revisit the performances and celebrations, we hope they will also recognize the stories that exist beyond the spotlight: the drivers who share their favorite music, the families who stand beside artists, the elders who inspire new sounds, and the young people who are learning to preserve what came before them.
Ultimately, Home Carried is not only about what we take with us when we leave home. It is about what we continue to nurture wherever we go.
We carry our music. We carry our language. We carry our memories, our influences, and our hopes for the next generation.
And as long as people continue to create, listen, teach, and share, the culture continues to move.
The stories live with us long before the spotlight does.
Watch our conversations at the CMA’s