My name is Leo McCalman and I am a steelpan player, teacher, and arranger, and I am the founder of True Steel.

 

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 Nostalgia Steelband (founded by Sterling Betancourt) from 2004 - 2020. I was also apart of Nostalgia and have played with them at past events including the Olympics Opening Ceremony in 2012. Eventually, I decided to start my own steel band where I brought together a group of skilled steelpan musicians, with individual experience’s that range from 10 - 40+ years, and formed True Steel in 2022. 

 

My aim is to make music enjoyable for all ages and abilities. With over 18 years of pan experience, my journeys include performing on various TV series such as ‘Come Dine With Me’ 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.