On Monday December 17, fans of Caribbean Music, witnessed a historic display of Caribbean culture on the stage at the newest sports arena in NYC- Barclays Center, home of the New York Nets. 107.5FM WBLS, Disc Jockey, Dahved Levy (CaribbeanFever.com) and his lineup of Caribbean Acts not only rocked the crowd from start to finish with the Guiness Caribbean Fever Music Festival; they may have rocked the entire downtown Brooklyn. These superstars of Caribbean Music represented the enviable talent pool, which is ours, with brilliant show stopping performances.
The lineup of Machel Montano, Mr. Vegas, Baby Cham, Morgan Heritage, Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick, T Micky (son of President of Haiti, Michel Martelly) and Allison Hinds, stamped Caribbean class all over Barclays and did not disappoint the over 10,000 fans who hardly moved a muscle from the arena until the close of show at 1:30am. And how could do they?
Performances by Slick Rick and Dougie Fresh energized the crowd, bringing back the old school rap vibes, while Allison Hinds, Mr. Vegas, Baby Cham (who had cameos with his wife ‘O’ & Foxy Brown), and their amazing array of dancers wowed! Morgan Heritage was ‘roots and culture’ solid; throw in a bit of Kompa with T Micky and there you have it; an eclectic Caribbean mix. The party vibe was preserved in between acts as the promoters deployed the world’s (number one) sound system, Mighty Crown, to keep the arena rocking and that they did just that, juggling in between acts to the delight of the fans. It was indeed a perfect blend of dancehall reggae and soca—a true Caribbean party.
The night however belonged to Machel Montano. From the moment he stepped on the stage he had the crowd in a state of frenzy. They just couldn’t get enough of the prince of soca. Some of this energy was probably driven by just sheer relief. With news breaking a week before the show, that he was found guilty of five criminal charges (stemming from a long-running assault case in Trinidad), the rumor mill went into full effect, questioning whether or not he could travel. In true Machel Montano fashion, he gave a breathtaking performance, even by his standards. And he brought with him a ‘swag bag’ of surprise appearances from the HD Family; Patrice Roberts, Benjai, Farmer Nappy, KI (Chutney Monarch King), and Kerwin Du Bois.
The event attracted the-who-is-who in entertainment: Missy Elliot, DJ Red Alert, Funk Master Flex, Bobby Konders and Jabba, Gil and Pat Bailey, among others.
Caribbean Fever promised a memorable show, one that would dazzle, amaze, and set the stage for a new wave of Caribbean influence and excellence; so far so good, because they surely did not disappoint. Caribbean Fever.com has been growing significantly within the last 2 years, boasting approximately 33,000 members with its biggest venture “Fevereyes.com” taking a hold of the Caribbean social networking scene.
Dahved Levy’s track record in concert promotion spans two decades, with sold out shows in the top venues in NYC. Now he has his sights set on several more projects for 2013 under the Caribbean Fever platform. The success of the Guinness Caribbean Music Festival was the big first for this next chapter.
