When Steel Talks
The 2021 edition of the PanoGrama competition kicked off on the evening of May 7. And yes, the producers of this virtual show have upped their game considerably. The event′s organizers provided a live stream production that was simultaneously broadcast on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. WST (When Steel Talks) monitored the show on both Facebook and YouTube. Facebook provided a max stream quality of 720p while YouTube facilitated one of 1080p. While both streams worked fine without any hiccups or buffering - for the serious pan music connoisseurs with discerning ears and professional visual taste, the YouTube platform is the only real choice.
The tightly woven program began exactly as advertised at 8:00 p.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time). The show′s host Nevin Roach and co-host Aundrea Wharton provided guidance, judging criteria, rules explanations, prize info, and welcome introductory data on the show′s competitors. Plain and simple - Roach and Wharton enhanced the show. At no time was there a need or desire to hit the ʽmute′ button on their vocal presentation. They kept it short, tight, supportive, entertaining and moving along. They understood the ʽtalent′ was what was on display. Quite frankly, on most of these virtual pan shows hosts don′t seem to know when to give it a break, and should NOT be on a mic or in front of a camera.
Ten of the thirty competitors performed on Night #1 with the remaining twenty to have their performances broadcast over the two following evenings. All of the contestants gave a very good accounting of themselves. Their musicianship, dexterity, control and ability to have competent and thought-provoking musical conversations were on full display.