Destra Takes Washington, DC Higher at Elevation Day Fete 2014

Washington, DC still had some Soca left in the tank when Elevation Day Fete took over the DMV on Saturday, November 22, 2014. With most of the major U.S. Carnival weekends already finished for the year, the late-November fete gave Caribbean music lovers one more chance to get together, wave, wine and forget that winter was right around the corner.

At the center of the action was Destra Garcia, bringing the kind of live performance that had already made her one of Soca’s most requested international artists. She arrived in Washington after a strong 2014 season that included two International Soca Monarch finals, with the groovy “First Time” and the high-energy “Mash Up.”

Julianspromos was there to capture Destra live at Elevation, preserving another stop in an increasingly wide 2014 event archive that had already stretched across New York, Toronto, Miami, Hollywood and other Caribbean entertainment markets. The surviving Julianspromos archive confirms the original “2014 Elevation Day Fete Highlights in Washington, DC” entry was published five days later on November 27.

Destra Was Having a Serious 2014

By the time Destra reached Washington, she had already spent much of the year doing what Destra does best: giving Soca crowds two completely different sides of her personality.

For the 2014 International Groovy Soca Monarch, she competed with “First Time,” finishing fourth behind Kerwin Du Bois, Machel Montano and Farmer Nappy.

Then she switched gears for the Power competition.

With “Mash Up,” Destra delivered the wilder side of her stage show and finished in a three-way tie for second with Mr. Killa and Iwer George, behind Machel Montano’s winning “Ministry of Road.”

That combination made her perfect for a fete like Elevation.

She could give the crowd something to wine to and, a few songs later, have the same room ready to mash up everything.

One More Fete Before the Year Was Done

There is something different about a Soca party in Washington in late November.

Miami Carnival was already over.

New York Carnival felt like a distant memory.

The summer festival run had wrapped.

But apparently nobody told the DMV it was time to calm down.

Elevation landed right in that space, giving Soca fans another reason to come out before the Caribbean music calendar began turning its attention toward Trinidad Carnival 2015.

And Destra was about to make that transition herself.

Four Days Later, “Lucy” Arrived

Here’s where the timing of the Julianspromos footage gets especially good.

Elevation took place November 22.

Just four days later, on November 26, 2014, Destra released a new song for Trinidad Carnival 2015 called “Lucy.” Written by Destra with Jason “Shaft” Bishop and produced by De Red Boyz, the record would become one of the defining songs of her career.

So the Washington performance catches Destra almost exactly between two seasons.

She arrived carrying the music and momentum of 2014, including “First Time” and “Mash Up.”

Days later, the next chapter started.

At the time, nobody at Elevation could have known just how big “Lucy” was about to become. It eventually joined records such as “It’s Carnival” and “I Dare You” among the songs Destra herself described as performances she could no longer leave out of a show.

That makes this little piece of the archive a lot more interesting in hindsight.

Destra and the DMV

Washington, DC and the wider DC-Maryland-Virginia Caribbean community have long maintained their own Soca party circuit, separate from the larger New York and Miami markets.

Throughout 2014 alone, the DMV calendar included Caribbean events such as Soca in the City, Islands in the Sun, A.M. Nesia, XEN, Eyes Wide Shut and Elevation, showing that Soca parties were happening in the region well beyond the traditional Carnival period.

Elevation arrived near the end of that year’s run.

And bringing Destra into that environment meant the party did not need much warming up.

Julianspromos in Washington, DC

The footage also adds another city to Julianspromos’ growing 2014 footprint.

What had begun primarily around New York Caribbean music and events was increasingly becoming a much wider archive of Soca culture across different cities.

Washington, DC was part of that expansion.

Rather than simply posting Destra’s music, Julianspromos was capturing the artist live in front of the people listening to it, preserving the atmosphere around the songs and not just the songs themselves.

The 2014 Elevation footage was shot and edited by Julian C. Hackett.

Five days after the event, the highlights were published through Julianspromos on November 27, 2014.

Looking Back

Elevation Day Fete caught Destra at a pretty fascinating moment.

She had already spent 2014 proving she could compete at the highest level in both Groovy and Power Soca.

She came to Washington, DC and gave the DMV a live dose of the Queen of Bacchanal.

And before the week was even over, “Lucy” was out.

That is the fun of going back through old event footage. Sometimes what looked like another great fete at the time ends up sitting right beside a much bigger moment in an artist’s career.

On November 22, 2014, Washington got Destra.

Four days later, the world started meeting Lucy.