The country is a second home for many of the pan-Caribbean genres of popular music, and has produced stars in calypso, soca, steeldrum, zouk and reggae.

[2][1] By the 1840s, sophisticated subscription balls were common, held biweekly with European-derived quadrilles accompanied by fiddle, tambourine and triangle.

[1] During the period of British and French colonial rule, African slaves were prohibited from celebrating in Carnival; they continued to do so, secretly, at home.

The loss of Antiguan traditions can be ascribed to the lack of a French colonial past (French islands of the Lesser Antilles retain much African-derived music and dance), the influence of the powerful Codrington family, a relatively unified African ethnic identity, the lack of African immigration after the peak of slavery importation, the British military presence at Shirley Heights and a modern history of unstable economy and government.

The highland fling is a common Christmas Festival dance, also played in the modern Carnival, performed by people wearing Scottish kilts, masks made of wire and bearing whips of cowhide.

In the 1940s and 50s, an improvisational benna singer named John "Quarkoo" Thomas sang up-to-date stories on legal scandals, and the sexual affairs of the upper-class.

[4][1] In other popular genres of music Antigua is best known for oldest and most successful soca band the Burning Flames, who have claimed the road march title for many years, most recently 2005.

The most famous indigenous musician in Antigua and Barbuda may be Oscar Mason, whose son O'Neill is also a noted trombonist.

[5] The Antigua Community Players[6] have been active for more than 52 years, performing a variety of musical productions in many styles, including the Antiguan folk song, benna.

Basil Hill, owner of King Midas Records in New York, built a large international nightclub called the Atmosphere in 1978, creating a direct outlet for Antigua and Barbudan singers and bands.

[7] The Antiguan and Barbudan Carnivals replaced the Old Time Christmas Festival in 1957, with hopes of inspiring tourism in Antigua and Barbuda.

[8] The Antigua and Barbuda international music festival, Romantic Rhythms, is a new addition to the summer line-up that peaks in August at the notorious Carnival celebrations.

Geared to becoming a competing counterpart to the Carnival, the festival could eventually become the leading musical event in the entire Caribbean region.

Calypso was sung throughout the English-speaking Caribbean, and was used by the poor as a platform for social and political commentary, using complex metaphors and folkloric references to obscure their meaning to outsiders.

This era also saw a growth in patriotic calypsos, focused on an emerging sense of victorious nationalism in the wake of growing autonomy.

In the 1970s, he began experimenting with calypso by blending it with the local chutney — the music of Trinidad's East Indian population — using instruments such as the sitar and tabla.