Atlanta-Dekalb
Carnival has now surpassed 15,000 people coming out to participate in
celebrating Caribbean Carnival, clearly with more people playing mas
that means more demand for higher caliber fetes. Thankfully, Atlanta’s
Caribbean community is ready for the challenge and raised the bar
themselves.
We all know that the
“pre-Carnival” fete to literally top all cooler fetes in the United States is Demolition Crew’s Cooler Fete,
held the Saturday before Atlanta Carnival Weekend. When I tell you the
VIBES are RIDICULOUS I’m not exaggerating - ask any International DJ
whose had a chance to experience this one ans so many others and they
can't deny this is the best in the US hands-down.
The 2017 version will go down in the history books as
“Monsoon Fete”, “Pooler Fete”, “Wet Fete to De Extreme”.....
Go ahead and have a massive thunderstorm roll through for an outdoor
fete that has no 1 major tent to cover patrons, that lights up the sky
so much that the sound system company flat out says “we not lighting
this up like the sky because it’s one big magnet ready to blow all
speakers with a strike”.
So, for the first 2 hours of a fete it
was purely pumping off the vibes of beating on bells, brake pads, horns
& chants.... and then 1 speaker out of a covered loading dock until
the lightning had subsided, because please believe the rain wasn’t gonna
let up all night long. Atlanta has seen
I-85 Highway Bridge burn down,
I-20 Highway crack up/hemorrhage, trucks filled with tomahawks
flip over/spill over I-75 Highway,
a tornado hit downtown all in the last couple of months.... a bad thunder & lightning storm aint stopping we,
We Jammin Still!DJ Stephen's "Ace Weekend"
started Thursday and went all the way through Memorial Day Weekend
having the full arsenal of the top-rated live artist performances and
DJ's -
Teddyson, Kerwin, Lyrikal, Skinny, Machel, Giselle the Wassi One, DJ Private Ryan, etc - it was fete after fete with International Soca Stars.
When it comes to the actual weekend of Carnival in Atlanta the out of towners truly descend in full force
Friday for EPIC Day Fete at Suite Lounge Rooftop, then you’ve got concerts with the likes of
Machel, Bunji, Lyrikal, etc. Saturday is the road march and where
people have really come to make the most of feting over Memorial Day Weekend is SUNDAY in Atlanta.
Sunday Morning Breakfast Party
has evolved tremendously over the last 6 years. Starting as a little
fete in the middle of a loading dock parking area with a couple hundred
people to then expanding to closer to 1,000 people in a grassy field, to
last year stepping up to be Atlanta’s 1st all-inclusive breakfast fete
in a smaller sleek downtown Atlanta venue to this year – heading back to
the open grass field with an
expanded all-inclusive capacity.Yet
another heavy storm threatening & hitting during the night prior
(similar to what happened in Jamaica 2 months ago the night before
Sunnation’s Breakfast Fete) Sunday Morning Breakfast Party became more
of a “brunch” party shifting the start time back from 8 am to 11 am.
The decision was wise & lead to people coming out to a sunny Sunday
morning with everyone now showing up in a timely manner ready for de
full pump.
With the event promoters
having roots in Trinidad and traveling to Carnivals all over the Caribbean it is no surprise to see some
familiar touches with food stations representing food from various
islands and tapestry covering the large central area for dancing with a
bit of shade all day long (similar to aspects of Soca Brainwash, Sunnation, and Vale). A live performance from
Shal Marshall & a wide array of local and international Soca DJ’s –
Sunday Morning Breakfast Party has carved out its’ own niche and is a staple for Carnival Weekend in Atlanta.
Sunday night – a new fete jumped on the scene and absolutely crushed it –
SUPA SOCA.
An incredibly experienced international group of DJ’s in collaboration with Atlanta's Team Trends, along with
multiple live Soca Artists performances..... all in
one of the most iconic locations of downtown Atlanta – a recipe for success that did not disappoint.
Barry Hype, DJ Crown Prince, Dr. Jay, DJ Jester, DJ Ryan Sayeed all came together to elevate Soca in the Southeast region of the US. The venue has never been used before for a fete - the outdoor space of Georgia Freight Depot, sandwiched between
The Underground and the golden dome of the state capital building in the background. Plenty of space to wine while taking in the
light-show that was an epic stage design equivalent to most EDM concerts.As the spectacle continued it was elevated time and time again as
live performances from Teddyson John, King Bubba, and Shal Marshall all shelled down the place. The
sea of flags representing every island large or small across the Caribbean waved constantly for hours as the music pumped hard giving life to downtown Atlanta.
To
watch how many locals who just happened to be in the area and stopped
in awe on an adjacent bridge to take it all in was a perfect validation
to demonstrate that the vibes & beauty of so many people celebrating
life while singing and dancing to Soca is truly impacting the world.The
recipe of Supa Soca leads me to believe that they may very well take
this fete and branch out to other carnivals, much like we’ve seen from
numerous big-name fete brands (Soca Brainwash, Vale, Caesar’s Army,
Candy Coated, Suits, Scorch, Sunnation, etc.).
This mixture of having both local promoters (
EPIC & Sunday Morning Breakfast Party) as well as international collaborations like
Supa Soca are truly
elevating Carnival Weekend in Atlanta into a North American Carnival that is worth carving out time on your calendar.‘Til Next Time, Soca to De World
-Jouvert Mike