ST ANN, Jamaica – What better way to start off the Best Weekend Ever than with sweet soca music?

The independence weekend celebrations in St Ann began on a high, with a successful first staging of I Love Soca on the beach on Friday.

But the grid-locked traffic from the Mammee Bay round-a-bout to Pearly Beach was a downer for many, leaving patrons grappling for precious party time in the wee hours of the morning.

And the familiar sound of soca/dancehall fusion music had revellers itching to get inside the jam-packed cooler fete.

Once inside, partygoers had several options to take selfies as photo booths lined the venue and gave the highly sought-after I Love Soca cups.

To warm up the crowd, the vibes minister Fyahman and Dj Kryptic gave patrons oldies but goodies, while Trinidadian soca personality Jason “JW” Williams set the pace throughout the night. Other disc jockeys to keep the energy high were crowd control masters Dj Franco and Brush1, dynamic duo Lord Hype and JR Chromatic, Dj Mindless, Nocturnal and Cyclone, Tony X and B2B and Dj Lantern.

For those who were worn out from raving, a dip in the Caribbean Sea did just the trick.

In the latter part of the event, Trinidadian soca artiste Viking Ding Dong took to the stage with his 2023 hit single DAP (Drink and Party), Leave It Alone among others.

Jamaican artiste Laa Lee, who performed at the last staging during the carnival season in April, had the crowd rocking to his hits, among them the ultra-popular Floating, Dirt Bounce, Bird, Whatz On Sale and Bong Bing.

From the beginning of his performance to the end he was adamant to keep the crowd entertained with his usual kicks and high energy. He even brought on Ocho Rios’ very own North Coast Boys as back up dancers.

“We nah stop the party vibes, it’s not a stage show,” Laa Lee said

The Best Weekend Ever continues on Saturday with Day Break from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm and Milk & Honey from 8:00pm to 2:00 am.