"they had been the previous night at an open air concert in which many songs and marches composed by their own people had been played and sung" Amelia Dorothy Defries 1916

This is observed by Amelia Dorothy Defries in 1916 and published in 1917.

There were many natively composed songs on the Island dating back to the 19th century. A particular orchestra was mentioned in the 19th century by William Drysdale in a book published in 1885.

They played American and British songs, and songs he claimed no man have ever heard before.

I think this plays an important part in the development of songs like Peas and Rice, which is undoubtedly a native song at it's origins.

These songs origins have been birthed from folk narratives and cultural expressions of the Bahamian people. The fact that these songs were made popular through the American music industry doesn't make the songs less Bahamian. It is Bahamian because of it's origins not its changes.

An Example Peas n Rice is an indigenous expression to The Bahamas. Jamaica and Trinidad and the rest of them say rice and peas. Even when you listen to the song by Lord Lebby https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIGw4vk7Tsg he says Rice n peas.

A person who is not familiar with Bahamian culture although they carry the name Conch which was originally a term exclusive to Bahamians, can never truly understand the culture of Bahamians if their mind will always be one sided.