Terri Lyons: Calypso Monarch, Queen of Queens & Cultural Icon | Corie Sheppard Podcast

In this powerful and deeply personal episode of The Corie Sheppard Podcast, we sit with Terri Lyons — Calypso Monarch, Queen of Queens, performer, and cultural torchbearer — for an expansive conversation on calypso, resilience, legacy, and Caribbean identity.

Terri unpacks what it truly means to represent Trinidad & Tobago on regional stages such as Montserrat and Carifesta, the responsibility that comes with being crowned Queen of Queens, and why claims that calypso is dying completely miss the point. She reflects on commanding performances, crowd connection, and the discipline behind her powerful stage presence.

The conversation moves into Terri’s early life in Port of Spain and Laventille, growing up without financial security, navigating loss and trauma, and how those experiences shaped her resilience, creative drive, and refusal to be boxed in by industry expectations. She speaks candidly about motherhood, survival, financial discipline, and staying authentic in a challenging music landscape.

We also explore:

The craft and strategy of calypso performance
Writing songs without rhythms and building music from melody and story
Paying homage to icons like Black Stalin and Shadow
Radio politics, cultural gatekeeping, and who decides what gets heard
Why calypso must connect with youth without losing its roots
Longevity, ownership, and making music work as a business
Her standout songs including “I Am Lion,” “Ask Yuh Man,” “Blessings,” and “Fling Bam Bam”
Competing in Skinner Park, tent culture, and the modern calypso circuit

This episode is a masterclass in Caribbean excellence, cultural preservation, and personal grit — filled with humour, honesty, and hard-earned insight from one of Trinidad & Tobago’s most compelling calypsonians.

00:00 Introduction – Corie welcomes Calypso Monarch & Queen of Queens, Terri Lyons
01:30 Winning Queen of Queens & performing in Montserrat
04:10 What “Queen of Queens” really means
06:40 The story behind “Blessings”
09:00 Learning songs in chaos & stage discipline
11:20 Doubt, competition & being the underdog
13:00 2020 Calypso Monarch win & holding the title
14:20 Paying homage to Shadow, Black Stalin & calypso history
17:00 Why calypso is not dying
21:30 Connecting calypso to youth & education
24:00 Background vocals, collaborations & studio grind
27:30 Songwriting, double entendre & sharp storytelling
29:45 Carifesta Barbados & an iconic performance moment
31:40 Growing up in Port of Spain & Laventille
36:00 Childhood trauma, survival & self-therapy
39:40 Financial discipline & paying off her home
43:00 Style, image & not living beyond your means
46:00 Band life, New York & $200 shows
49:30 Writing songs without a rhythm
52:00 “I Am Lion” & working with Nadia Batson
56:00 Ask Yuh Man, Skinner Park & pushing through adversity
59:00 Radio politics & cultural gatekeeping
01:03:00 Fling Bam Bam & crossing into soca
01:05:30 Tent life, competition & the 2026 season
01:07:30 Picong, fearlessness & calypso truth-telling
01:09:30 Legacy, gratitude & final reflections