PATRONS attending the Boxing Day edition of I Love Soca received a Christmas gift, courtesy of the promoters: a surprise performance from dancehall royalty Bounty Killer.

The occasion was held at Sabina Park in Kingston on December 26.

“A surprise cameo by Bounty Killer just turned the party over,” Andrew Bellamy, I Love Soca director, explained to the Jamaica Observer.

Bellamy’s words summed up what happened when the deejay graced the stage at 2:00 am for a short but blazing set. Fans went wild as he raced through his extensive catalogue of crowd pleasing hit songs. From Fed Up to Sufferer, Bounty Killer had patrons singing along despite soca music being the focus of the show. Not that he needed much help to get everyone going as DJ Delano and Jazzy T had already primed the audience for dancehall with their mini-Renaissance Disco reunion.

Even before that, headliner Skinny Fabulous, ended his strong set with some dancehall.

“My first inspiration in music came through dancehall. My first piece of writing as an artiste was a dancehall track. Bounty is somebody I look up to, so once I knew Killer was here I had to go into that dancehall thing, just as a homage, to show the appreciation to where I am,” he said.

Skinny Fabulous’s set was a strong one as his own songs were well received by the audience already hyped up from the DJ line up that included Franco, Brush 1, Cyclone, Richie Ras, Riggo Suave, Cardo, Nuphoric, DJ Tyler, Marlon Musique, Fireman and the Miami Dream Team.

“The performance was good as usual. I think Jamaica is a place where I would say five years ago it was always a question mark. You’d be sceptical as to how you’d be received, but I think more and more I come to Jamaica is the more comfortable I get, the more comfortable and at home I feel,” Skinny Fabulous added.

The warm reception from the packed venue was punctuated by fireworks as they sang along to When the lights go down, Duracell, and his monster hit Worst Behaviour.

“It means a whole different thing when a Jamaican crowd sings your song word for word. It really shows the migration of culture and genres, so it’s always an appreciated thing to see it.”

At the end of the evening, Bellamy was delighted at the success of I Love Soca.

“I can tell you that the team feels proud, very happy about tonight. This is almost the start of our 10th year anniversary. We’ve been doing this for a long time and for us to conceptualize a theme and to bring the theme to life, you could see it in the execution tonight. From the backhoes, with the girls on stage in construction vests, dancing with hard hats, to the caution tape, it felt good to see the support,” said Bellamy.

He felt that the continued innovation of themes is what makes I Love Soca a staple on every partygoers map.

“That’s big part of being successful with events, ensuring that you’re not predictable, ensuring that you maintain your relevance. You must go above and beyond. It’s up to us as promoters to come up with the experience for the patrons,” Bellamy added.