W Fete Brings Destra Garcia, Kerwin Du Bois & Soca Stars to Resorts World for New York Carnival 2013
New York Carnival Weekend brought a serious Soca lineup to Queens on Saturday, August 31, 2013, when W Fete took over Resorts World Casino New York City for a Labor Day Saturday night celebration.
The bill brought together Destra Garcia, Kerwin Du Bois, Ravi B & Karma, Patrice Roberts, Blaxx, Benjai, Drupatee and Nisha B — a mix of Soca and Chutney Soca artists whose music had been moving Trinidad Carnival and Caribbean audiences throughout 2013.
Julianspromos was inside Resorts World with Marsha Monelle hosting the coverage and interviewing artists. Julian C. Hackett and Chandelle “Chandy” De Riggs shot the event footage, while Julian edited the final video, which was uploaded on September 6, 2013.
Watch W Fete New York 2013
The surviving Julianspromos highlights take viewers inside W Fete for performances, interviews and scenes from one of New York Carnival Weekend’s biggest Soca lineups.
With Marsha Monelle on camera, the coverage moves between the artists and the atmosphere inside Resorts World, preserving more than just the stage show.
A Carnival Saturday Lineup Built for Soca Fans
W Fete packed a lot of Trinidad and Tobago’s 2013 Carnival season into one New York show.
Destra Garcia, Kerwin Du Bois, Ravi B, Patrice Roberts, Blaxx, Benjai and Drupatee had all been part of the competitive Soca Monarch conversation earlier that year, while Nisha B and Karma strengthened the night’s Chutney Soca presence.
That gave the event more range than a straightforward Soca concert. Power and Groovy Soca shared the bill with Chutney Soca, bringing several generations and styles of Trinidad and Tobago music together at Resorts World.
Original W Fete artwork promoting the August 31, 2013 Labor Day Saturday night event at Resorts World Casino New York City.
Destra, Kerwin and a Big Year for Soca
Destra Garcia arrived in New York as one of Soca’s established headline performers, coming off another Trinidad Carnival season that had placed her in both the Groovy and Power Soca Monarch competitions.
Kerwin Du Bois was at a different but equally interesting point in his journey. By 2013, he had already built a reputation as a songwriter, producer and performer, with songs such as “Possessed” helping strengthen his profile as a frontline artist. Only months after W Fete, he would move into the Carnival season that produced his 2014 Groovy Soca Monarch victory.
Looking back, the W Fete footage catches Kerwin immediately before one of the biggest breakthroughs of his career.
Ravi B, Nisha B and the Chutney Soca Connection
W Fete was not only about mainstream Soca.
Ravi B & Karma, Nisha B and Drupatee gave the night a strong Chutney Soca presence, connecting the traditional Indo-Caribbean side of Trinidad and Tobago’s music with the broader Carnival soundtrack.
Ravi B had enjoyed a strong 2013 Carnival season with “Prescription,” while Drupatee was back in the spotlight with “Indian Gyal.” Nisha B, already a central voice within Karma, was also given her own billing on the W Fete promotion.
That mix helped make the lineup feel like a wider snapshot of Trinidad and Tobago rather than one narrow corner of the Soca scene.
Blaxx, Patrice Roberts and Benjai Bring the Fete Energy
The lineup was stacked with artists whose 2013 records were made for a night like this.
Blaxx was coming off a major Carnival season with songs including “Leh Go,” while Patrice Roberts had “A Little Wine” in her 2013 repertoire.
Then there was Benjai, whose appropriately titled “Feter” had carried him into the 2013 Groovy Soca Monarch final.
Put those voices together with Destra, Kerwin and the Chutney Soca cast, and W Fete had very little chance of being a quiet night.
Labor Day Saturday Night at Resorts World
W Fete brought New York Carnival Weekend beyond its traditional Brooklyn center and into Queens.
Resorts World Casino New York City, located at 110-00 Rockaway Boulevard in Jamaica, Queens, provided the setting for the August 31 show. The venue had opened only a couple of years earlier and was still establishing itself as a major entertainment destination. Its current official address remains 110-00 Rockaway Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11420.
The W Fete promotion billed the event as a “Labor Day Saturday Night Spectacular,” with $25 early-bird admission advertised on the surviving promotional material.
For New York’s Caribbean audience, it was another reminder that Carnival Weekend stretched far beyond Eastern Parkway.
Marsha Monelle Makes Her Julianspromos Debut at W Fete
W Fete marked Marsha Monelle’s debut assignment with Julianspromos.
Marsha traveled from Boston to New York to join the team for the event, stepping in as the on-camera host and interviewing artists throughout the night.
Behind the camera, Julian C. Hackett and Chandelle “Chandy” De Riggs filmed the event, capturing the performances, interviews and atmosphere inside Resorts World Casino.
Julian C. Hackett edited the footage, and the surviving video was uploaded on September 6, 2013.
For Marsha, W Fete became the beginning of her on-camera history with Julianspromos. For viewers, the combination of artist interviews and performance footage gives the surviving video more depth than a standard concert recap, preserving both the music and the personalities behind one of New York Carnival Weekend’s standout lineups.
Photos from W Fete New York 2013
The original Julianspromos photo gallery captures more of the atmosphere inside W Fete at Resorts World Casino New York City, from the artists and performances to the crowd and behind-the-scenes moments throughout the night.
The photographs also preserve Marsha Monelle’s first assignment with Julianspromos, when she traveled from Boston to New York to join the team and host the event coverage.
Together with the surviving video, the gallery offers a fuller look at the August 31, 2013 event and the people who helped make W Fete one of New York Carnival Weekend’s major Soca gatherings.
New York Carnival Beyond Brooklyn
Labor Day Weekend in New York has never been limited to one parade.
Fetes, boat rides, concerts, J’Ouvert events and parties spread across the city, creating several days of Caribbean entertainment around the West Indian American Day Carnival.
W Fete showed just how far that reach extended in 2013.
While Eastern Parkway remained the symbolic center of the weekend, a packed Soca and Chutney Soca lineup could also take over a major Queens entertainment venue and still feel completely connected to Carnival.
From the Julianspromos Archives
More than a decade later, W Fete NY 2013 is worth revisiting for the lineup alone.
Destra Garcia was already a major Soca star. Kerwin Du Bois was months away from his Groovy Soca Monarch breakthrough. Blaxx, Patrice Roberts, Benjai, Ravi B, Drupatee and Nisha B all represented different parts of Trinidad and Tobago’s 2013 musical landscape.
With Marsha Monelle hosting, Julian C. Hackett and Chandelle “Chandy” De Riggs behind the cameras, and Julian editing the final footage, the surviving Julianspromos video preserves a packed Labor Day Saturday night when some of Soca and Chutney Soca’s biggest names shared the W Fete stage in Queens.
