Sekon Sta scores with Sekon Sunday

Staying true to his promise to pay homage to the city of Port of Spain and its diverse cultural background, soca artiste Sekon Sta did not disappoint as he staged a jam-packed Sekon Sunday fete featuring an assortment of artistes representing different genres and age groups.

From as early as 4 pm on Sunday, throngs of patrons dressed in their best gathered at the Fatima College Grounds on Mucurapo Road, eager to get the party started.

As patrons continued to pour into the venue as the sun began to set, others took photographs at props and photo booths, excited to share their experience on social media.

While most of the patrons were in the 25 to 30-year-old age bracket, a significant portion of the audience also appeared to be veteran limers.

This mix of patrons was partly owed to the multi-generational roster of artistes scheduled to perform including Young Bredda, Erphaan Alves, Nailah Blackman and Mical Teja representing young artistes, while Superblue, Ronnie McIntosh and Iwer George represented veteran performers.

This is consistent with the tone of earlier Sekon Sunday events which featured cultural icons like Superblue, Blaxx, the Mighty Lingo and Gypsy.

While the pace of some Carnival events would gradually build over the evening, the fete started on a high note with high-energy performances from College Boy Jesse followed by Preedy.

While the show was the first Sekon Sunday since the covid19 pandemic was announced in 2020, it was the fourth edition of the series which has been dubbed a "fetecert" by promoters.

Speaking with Newsday after the event, Sekon Sta, whose real name is Nesta Boxill, said he was pleased with the turnout and response of the crowd.

He said the event's success was largely owed to the extent of organisation and rehearsals with the music band.

"There will never be enough rehearsals, so there will never be enough, but it was definitely a lot of work."

Commenting on the mix of artistes and genres, Sekon Sta said he made it his goal to attract patrons from as many age brackets and musical tastes as possible in a celebration of the capital city and Carnival 2023.

"We really tried to put together a show with variety.

"At the end of the day, it's a tribute to Port of Spain and we want to show respect to everything that is Trinidad and Tobago at all stages – what we were, what we are and what we're going to be.

"I have myself here representing what we are, we had Ronnie McIntosh and Superblue representing what we were, and we ensured we had all of the young acts – we brought out someone like Young Bredda to show what we're gonna be and understand Trinidad is is a beautiful place and we have to pay tribute to that."

Sekon Sta said the event appeared to attract one of the largest turnouts in recent times.

The high-energy performances kept the crowd swaying as patrons with flags moved in time with the rhythm as their friends sang along with artistes lyric for lyric.

While the crowd kept pumping to the beat of their favourite artistes, backstage was a more relaxed atmosphere as managers and artistes mingled over drinks before preparing to go on stage.

Newsday also spoke with logistics manager for the event Stefan Guevara who said the show was a result of months of planning and brainstorming with stakeholders, noting that preparation began as early as August 2022.

"It was a huge undertaking, but our team was up to the task.

"It was a learning experience, a humbling experience as well, as we realised that the show has grown so much and the team and everyone gained some new skills for this and we're just moving from strength to strength, take our experiences from this one, tweak it and then make it better for the next one."

While patrons were generally pleased with the quality, a few partiers were not satisfied over the chit system in place at the bar.

One patron complained that the procedure to get chits and get drinks was too cumbersome and time-consuming as he just wanted to get back to the fete as quickly as possible.

Responding to these issues, Guevara said while he did not hear complaints for himself, it was something they would try to improve on for future events.

"Part of being better or getting better is taking those criticisms and going back to the drawing board and enhancing it, but not taking it to heart."

For many soca artistes, the event was also a testing ground to see the crowd's response to their 2023 releases.

Speaking with Newsday after his performance, Preedy, whose real name is Akeem Chance, said he felt the crowd responded well to his new list of songs.

"I sang seven new songs and all were received well. No Regrets, Monopoly, 9 to 5, Rocket, Doh Judge Meh, Loose, and all of them were received well.

"I keep telling people stop saying the music isn't as good as last year.

"The mechanisms aren't the same every single year. Just let it soak in and I promise you that by January 29 in Chance (Preedy's fete) when you buy your ticket, the music is going to make you fly away."

Artiste and songwriter Erphaan Alves also stirred the crowd into a frenzy when he took to the stage just after midnight to perform his new single Spirit.

Sekon Sta, in his introduction of Alves, said he felt Spirit was a Road March contender.

During his time on stage, Alves took his performance one step further, jumping into the crowd to interact with the rambunctious partiers, before returning onstage to perform Brave alongside Sekon Sta and Nailah Blackman.

Speaking with Newsday after his performance, Alves said he felt soca as a genre was "in good hands" and was heartened by the support of the crowd and fellow artistes to his new music.

"We're doing everything we need to to keep soca as a genre alive, even outside of just releasing music.

"Once we continue to support each other as artistes, I don't see soca going anywhere besides up. We're here to stay.

"I just appreciate him (Sekon Sta) creating the conversation of Spirit being a road march contender, so it's just up to me now to follow through with my team to drive it through."

For their performances Ronnie McIntosh and Superblue kept the crowd going with their classic hits.

During a brief pause in the programme, both artistes were honoured with lifetime achievement awards presented to them by officials from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts.

In the closing portion of the show, Sekon Sta, alongside pannists Joshua Regrello and Johann Chuckaree, paid tribute to late calypsonians Explainer and Black Stalin, performing their hits as the show began to wind down.

Ending just after 1 am, tired patrons chatted among themselves over their thoughts on the show and what they felt was the high point of the evening.

Regardless of their opinions on which performance was best, many generally agreed the show's return was a success.