LOCAL folk musicians Gavin Mendonca and Marlon ‘Chucky’ Adams are yet again on a mission – this time they’re taking Guyanese folk music across the Caribbean Sea. They are embarking on their first international gig together at the Bridgetown International Arts Festival in Barbados.

Tomorrow, at the Barbados Museum in Bridgetown, the duo will join a number of musicians and cultural practitioners from around the world to exchange cultures through song and dance.

Their trip to Barbados is being supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and Courtesy Garage Limited in Barbados.

Marlon, who is the leader of the Buxton Fusion School of Music, is excited to be able to travel with Gavin for the first time. They have been playing music together here in Guyana since 2015 when they met at the Rupununi Music and Arts Festival.

Gavin, who has been taking Guyanese folk music and culture to new forums such as Folk Alliance International in the US and the Ethno World Organisation, is also very excited to finally be able to travel with Chucky.

They were initially billed to perform in Trinidad at the New Fire Festival in 2020 but that was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, they continued to meet up and learn new folk songs and even write original music, including the catchy ‘Everything Gon Be Alright’ which can be streamed via Spotify.

In 2021, they produced a series of live performances in the Rupununi, promoting Iwokrama River Lodge, Turtle Mountain, the Canopy Walkways and Rock View Lodge as must-see destinations for both Guyanese and tourists to visit.

The videos were released on YouTube and on www.creolerock.com and are being broadcasted by National Communication Network (NCN) in Guyana and by the CBC Network to various parts of the Caribbean.

Since 2019, the two have been working on a project to record all of Guyana’s folk songs in a series of albums. ‘Folk It Up Vol. 1’ was released in 2019, while Vol. 2 was released last Christmas, and Vol. 3 will be recorded this April live in the Iwokrama Rainforest.

“So, people listening to Gavin and Chucky’s upcoming album will feel immersed in the rainforest and the ambience of nature will be captured in the album’s recording,” Gavin shared with Buzz this week.

The project is being supported by Iwokrama, Guyana Tourism Authority, University of Guyana, Kross Kolor Records, Sankar’s Auto Works and Ricks & Sari.