IT was another bumper crowd for Bacchanal Fridays at Mas Camp in St Andrew, on March 11, as the beach and cooler fete theme along with the two-for-one entry special was a big hit with the fans looking for their Friday night carnival fix.

“Tonight would have normally been a small night, so things worked out great,” Michael Ammar Jr, director — Bacchanal Jamaica, told the Jamaica Observer.

So far, the season has been beyond their original projections.

“It has been bigger and better than what we expected, and most importantly we’re seeing a lot of new faces each night,” he added.

Ammar Jr attributed the success to the huge effort every week to make each Mas Camp party different from the next.

“We just want to tell the fans that the warm-up is done. Next week is when the real heat begins.”

Friday’s party marked the last night of the DJs. Bacchanal Beach 2 for 1 Cooler Fete saw the venue decked out with ‘palm trees’ and other beach staples while Jamaica’s DJ Sanjay and Trinidad and Tobago’s Ryan Sayeed played the latest soca hits from a DJ booth designed to look like a beach cabana. For Sayeed, this was his third time in Jamaica, which he enjoyed immensely.

“The crowd was amazing. I’ve heard about Mas Camp back home and everyone says it’s a vibe like no other,” he explained.

Sayeed benefited greatly from the foundations laid before him by his fellow countrymen, as the huge audience was more than familiar with many of 2016 soca hits and danced without hesitation through his several sets.

Cheers For Life is easily the most popular soca song I’ve found, but my favourite is Road Trip because it symbolises the spirit of carnival,” he said.

The Trinidadian also jelled well with DJ Sanjay, who easily switched between the roles of ‘hypeman’ to Sayeed, and his own duties behind the turntables. He proved the best counterpoint to Sayeed’s soca playlist, dipping into hip-hop, dancehall, EDM, and classic carnival tunes, all of which the large crowd ate up.

Bacchanal Fridays sees live performances from Bunji Garlin and Fay-Ann Lyons, next Friday.

— Rory Daley