Having backed up and performed alongside the cream of the crop in Soca and Calypso music, Lima Calbio has earned her spot as a who’s who in these genres- not only in her native Trinidad and Tobago but around the world.  This multi-talented singer and entertainer is seasoned.  She is electrifying. She is a class act. She is music.

 

Lima got an early start in the music biz from the tender age of five. Performing in talent shows and calypso competitions during her primary and secondary school days.

 

Her first professional recording was in 1988, and the following year she joined her first Soca band.  There, she gained valuable experience performing at venues throughout Trinidad.

 

In 1990, she was ready for touring.   Lima performed in the US, UK, Canada and throughout the Caribbean region with a local band.  With them she establihed a name for herself and did more recordings.  

 

Lima had become a much sought after singer by the year 1995. This gave her the opportunity to do vocals for Trinidad’s local Calypso stars and was asked by  the legendary zouk band Kassav from the French-Antillean island of Guadeloupe to contribute her backing vocals to their album Dife. This was a great accomplishment, as Kassav is much respected internationally, and other contributors on the album included Stevie Wonder, who played harmonica.

 

From one legend to another, Lima moved from singing backup for Kassav to being on the front line of Byron Lee and the Dragonaires.  Led by the well known Jamaican guitarist Byron Lee, the Dragonaires was lauded as one of the most respected party bands in the Caribbean region. During her tenure with the band, some members left and some came like Cedric Poitier (nephew of Sidney Poitier).

 

By January of 2000 Lima went back to Trinidad to be with her teenage daughter and focus on her solo career.

 

She was now free to sing with other groups and work with prominent producers in the region. She performed throughout the region with Arrow “Hot Hot Hot” and his multi-national band, The Multinational Force, as well as Toriano “Onyan” Edwards and his Baygon Band.  

 

She says it is with theses bands that she discovered some of the region’s smaller islands like Jos Van Dyke, Virgin Gorda and Saba. By the time she had joined Byron Lee as a guest artist in 2003, Lima had several recordings under her belt with award-winning producers and songwriters.  “De Fittest” (2002) was recorded at Underground Studios in Barbados, Bajan Soca monarch and frontman of Krosfyah Band, Edwin Yearwood, wrote the song “Ready For De Road”, just to name a few.     

 

Though she had success with her 2002’s double entendre hit song  “Sugar Factory”, it was in 2004 that she struck gold.  Written by her friend Onyan, “Di Garden” was an instant hit, and won her the 2004 International Soca Award for Vocalist of the Year in New York. She established a name for herself in New York where she performed at City Hall, Borough Hall, and at several other prestigous private functions.  

 

Lima’s vocal abilities were also recognized by the government of Trinidad and Tobago, who in 2007 included her on a trade mission to China, Korea and India.  Songs like “Fire, fire” and “Tiney Winey” were well received, much for their nostalgia as for Lima’s rendition of them.

 

Having made a name for herself in popular bands, Lima is now focused on gaining recognition as a solo artist. For the past three years she has performed at the UK’s annual Ipswich Arts Festival.  In 2011 she made foray into Seychelles where she has gained new fans and established herself as a staple during their annual carnival festivities where she is known as the “Carnival Queen”.

 

She has her eyes set on other nations on the other side of the globe including Tanzania, Kenya and Dubai. Mexico, Venezuela, Guyana, Trinidad, Belize, and Jamaica have so far witnessed her singing prowess. Looking at the number of female singers on the Soca landscape, Lima knows that she is a pioneer.  A Lima Calbio performance is an exhibit of masterful comedic timing, crowd control and musical artistry. Her ultimate goal is to have her own cabaret show. She’s got the voice, she’s got the wit, she’s got the looks.  There’s little doubt that it will happen. In the meantime lookout for her on a stage near you!