Prime Minister Gaston Browne has announced plans to recommend the members of Antigua and Barbuda’s iconic soca band, Burning Flames, for knighthoods during the country’s next Independence celebrations.
Speaking on Pointe FM, Browne said the four musicians deserved the nation’s highest recognition for their role in shaping Antigua and Barbuda’s cultural identity and carrying local music to international audiences.
“The Burning Flames 4 … we’re going to recommend them for a knighthood at our next Independence. I hope the Honours Committee will see it fitting to bestow upon them a knighthood, each of them. Just like Sir Maclean and Swallow as well as Obstie, they really helped to carry the art form,” he said.
The Prime Minister placed Burning Flames alongside some of the country’s most celebrated artists, including Sir McLean Emanuel, better known as King Short Shirt, and the late Sir Rupert “Swallow” Philo.
Founded in the 1980s, Burning Flames transformed the sound of soca in Antigua and the wider Caribbean with electrifying performances and hits that pushed the boundaries of the genre. Their influence, Browne noted, extended “beyond the diaspora,” cementing their place as pioneers of modern Caribbean music.
If approved by the Honours Committee, the award would see all four members of the band receive knighthoods — a move likely to be celebrated across the region as recognition of their lasting contribution to Caribbean culture.
