Lunchtime & Sunset Events

Free concerts & lectures held in the Frank Collymore Hall cultural complex. The Frank Collymore Hall was opened in 1986 and quickly became popular as a venue of choice for many events such as classical and choral recitals, dance seasons, small dramatic productions and lectures.

In a quest to expand this role as widely as possible the Hall introduced at first, a series of lunchtime concerts, and later sunset concerts. These are held at 12.15 pm for lunchtime and usually 6.15 pm for sunset concerts. They are sponsored by the Hall and are free to the public. They are scheduled to appeal to workers, shoppers and visitors in Bridgetown who can easily slip in and out of the Hall. Concerts may include the sale of light refreshments on the Terrace.

However not all of these concerts are held in the Hall itself, some are scheduled in the open air of the Cathedral Plaza. In December 1986 the first Pan in the Plaza concert was launched for Christmas. Local Steel Pannist Fitgerald “Boney” Brathwaite was booked to entertain the public who were traversing the Plaza or relaxing on its benches.

In later years Pan In the Plaza lunchtime concerts would include school bands and groups from
overseas. Eventually this would develop into a scheduled evening event showcasing full steel bands especially local school bands. This event is titled the Youth Pan Extravaganza and features the participants of the Youth Pan Project along with guest artists.

Open air sunset concerts are sometimes scheduled slightly earlier especially at Christmas time. Some of these have included concerts by the popular Royal Barbados Police Band, sometimes accompanied by choirs and soloists. These are held in the Cathedral Plaza or the Church Village Green.

The Calypso Junior Monarch Lunchtime concert is a very popular event that is held each year during the Crop Over Festival. This is scheduled for the Thursday before the finals of the Junior Calypso Monarch Contest. It is used as a rehearsal for the children in the contest and is in such demand that the event usually plays to full houses each year.


Lunchtime and sunset concerts have included jazz and popular music concerts, classical recitals, dance showcases and even fashion shows. Some performers use the occasion to launch recordings.

The Hall and Grande Salle are also venues of choice for a number of lunchtime lectures. Prominent among these is the CBB/UWI lunchtime monthly lecture series sponsored by the Central Bank of Barbados and the University of the West Indies. They cover a range of topics of public interest. We invite you to go to our calendar for the listing of upcoming Lunchtime or Sunset concerts and lectures.