Plenty love for soca stars at Jamaica carnival

Soca music is definitely loved and appreciated by many people in Jamaica and the events of Jamaica carnival last weekend demonstrated this. Thousands of Jamaicans joined regional and international tourists who participated in numerous Carnival and soca-themed events over the past two weekends in the land that's renowned for reggae and dancehall music.

Kes The Band's live concert hosted by SunNation at Sabina Park on April 13, and the first-ever WI Fete at the same venue on April 15 attracted thousands of patrons, even as Trinidad's staple events such as Private Ryan's Soca Brainwash, Scorch's Duck Work and Caesar's Army's AM Bush J'Ouvert also drew huge crowds to different locations in and around the capital city Kingston.

Creative carnival decor, themes, customs, aesthetics and soundscapes prevailed throughout the festivities with sprinkles of dancehall and reggae for good measure, similar to the mix experienced in Trinidad Carnival as it has evolved over the past two decades, said a release from Overtime Media.

Soca superstar Machel Montano made note of this phenomenon on April 15 during his first performance with a full band on the island in many years, and 2023 Road March winner Ian "Bunji Garlin" Alvarez also shared a story of a time when soca artistes were not so readily accepted on the island.

"The year is 2023," he related after applauding the massive crowd for singing his hit song Differentology, word for word. "The last time I set foot inside here it was 2000. I didn't understand Jamaica dem times and ah come here with muh arrogant self and feel ah coulda do wha ah want. Delano from Renaissance gimme de microphone and ah say gimme that dancehall riddim and ah woman in de crowd say 'come offa dat, who is you' and boo me straight off de stage. Ah fly back home to Trinidad that night and ah say ah never coming back to Jamaica again..."

Garlin freestyled the second half of the story in time with his hit song and the crowd's response was tremendous. Performing with his live band, Garlin showed masterful crowd control, stage presence and potent delivery, alongside his trademarked freestyling (extemporaneous) skills, the release said.

The 2023 Road March runner-up, Nailah Blackman and Gamal "Skinny Fabulous" Doyle, also enjoyed their time onstage, as did three-time Soca Monarch Aaron "Voice" St Louis when he appeared during Montano's closing set.

Jeffrey "Agent Sasco" Campbell, who sings on the new Caribbean Airlines theme song, Welcome Home, and rising star Raheem "Valiant" Bowes were among the few Jamaican, non-soca performers on the night and both were greeted warmly by the audience, but the soca stars were definitely the highlight and main attraction at WI Fete.

Similarly, at Kes' concert, recent collaborator Reanno "Busy Signal" Gordon was welcomed and enjoyed by the masses assembled, but it was Iwer George's 2020 collaboration with Kes, Stage Gone Bad, that sent the crowd into a frenzy – jumping, wining and waving rags and flags.

Event co-ordinator Damian Archie, who has been producing events with Caesar's Army and others at Jamaica Carnival for over a decade, says the cultural integration is still a work in progress.

He said, "The Jamaicans have their own ways of doing things generally, but over the years, they have observed us and taken stock of how we do things and so now they are more willing to collaborate and trust us more to handle certain aspects and there are still things that can be improved on all sides, but the music is there – soca is at a level now where we have two and three different generations of talent who are professionals and have hits and catalogue and varying degrees of stage experience, so there are about two generation who have grown up loving them and loving soca music as much as they love any other genre.

"Jamaica's carnival is not on our level yet in terms of size, organisation, logistics etc but because they are a very expressive and confident people, the parade is on a different level by itself at the same time."