HUNDREDS of soca fans piled into Sabina Park in Kingston for I Love Soca Jamaica Cooler Festival last week Wednesday.

“We’ve been planning it a while, so a lot of work. The people have been coming from overseas because Carnival in Jamaica has been growing and it shows here tonight and we’re happy about that,” Ian Bourne, a member of the organising committee, told the Jamaica Observer.

Packed to the rafters, the venue was already primed for excitement as the DJ line- up included local favourites DJ Smoke and Richie Ras who kept the soca hits flowing all night.

The excitement went up a notch after Kerwin Dubois took the stage. As one of the three billed live performances, his energetic set had the patrons going from his opening song Welcome to the Carnival. Once done, the massive crowd was treated to a deluge of surprise artistes from the soca and dancehall fraternities. One by one the musical guests kept hitting the stage. Acts like Nailah Blackman and Allison Hinds had fans screaming on the top of their lungs. Things hit fever-pitch when during Skinny Fabulous’ set, he brought on dancehall singjay Chi Ching Ching and closed off with dancehall legend Beenie Man. Blaxx then closed out the featured performers segment.

As the audience caught their breath, Ding Dong and his Ravers Clavers crew brought energy levels back to peak with his catalogue of dance hits.

At the end of the evening, Bourne reflected on what was the event’s largest night to date, indicating that I Love Soca was not about topping each event, but more about keeping a consistent level for the fans to expect when they attend.

— Rory Daley