My name is Leo McCalman and I am a steelpan player, teacher and arranger, who founded True Steel in 2022. I first started gigging at the age of 13 and was brought into steelpan by my father, Dr Lionel McCalman, who has been a pioneer for Notting Hill Carnival for over 40 years and led one of the oldest steel bands in the country, Nostalgia Steelband (founded in 1964), from 2004 - 2020. After Lionel retired, I brought together a group of skilled steelpan musicians, with individual experience’s that range from 10 - 40 plus years, and formed True Steel. 

 

I quoted: “My aim is to bring as many people together in music as I can and make music enjoyable for all ages and abilities.” With over 18 years of pan experience, my journeys include being part of the Olympics Opening Ceremony in 2012, performing on ‘Come Dine With Me’ in 2015 and performing in countries such as Luxembourg, China, Germany and USA. 

 

As a band, we specialise in just about every occasion, most often performing at weddings, birthdays, private parties, funerals, anniversaries, community events and corporate events. When it comes to our music, we have hundreds of different songs in our repertoire and play a bit of everything from traditional calypso and reggae to classical and r&b. Also with enough notice, we can play new songs at your request.