ONE of the largest names in soca music, Machel Montano, is booked to close this year’s inaugural staging of the LIME-sponsored All-Island Carnival set for April 29. The organisers will be pulling out all the stops for a spectacular finale dubbed Soca Supa Soka.

Montano, who will be performing in Jamaica for the first time in just over a year, will be bringing with him his entire ‘HD’ band.

“We are excited about it. Very excited,” said Julius Morgan, one of three directors of Tristar Entertainment, organisers of the event.

“There is no other act that we could use for our final event. Machel Montano is one of the greatest Caribbean entertainers, and we are looking forward to him bringing his powerhouse set to the UDC Field in New Kingston in the next two weeks. It’s going to be amazing,” Morgan continued.

Stephen Price, LIME’s regional special projects manager said that his company was also looking forward to the event.

“LIME is extremely pleased to join TriStar Entertainment in welcoming the 2011 Soca Monarch Machel Montano to Jamaica for the LIME All Island Carnival J’ouvert,” he commented.

Pryce also said that “through our sponsorship of All-Island Carnival, we have committed to providing the best in entertainment for our customers and by extension all soca fans. Bringing one of the hottest artistes in the industry to our shores is something that we are indeed very proud of and we expect a fantastic performance from him.”

Machel Montano is noted for his high-energy, fast-paced, and often unpredictable on-stage performances. During his career, which spans more than 25 years, he has recorded several songs alongside many of Caribbean music’s most popular acts, such as Admiral T, Alison Hinds, Beenie Man, Calypso Rose, Wyclef Jean, Shaggy, Sparrow, Destra, Buju Banton, Doug E Fresh, Pitbull and many others. He now stands as one of the most well-known soca acts in the world and has been performing to sold-out audiences all over the globe.