The Main Event: HD Edition 2014 – Machel Montano & Soca Stars Take Over Toronto
Toronto Carnival Saturday was nowhere near finished when the sun went down on August 2, 2014.
After a full day of mas and music on the road, thousands of Soca fans headed to The International Centre’s Arrow Hall in Mississauga for The Main Event: HD Edition — a massive live concert built around some of the biggest names of the 2014 Carnival season.
At the center of it all was Machel Montano with the HD Family, joined by Bunji Garlin, Fay-Ann Lyons, Patrice Roberts, Farmer Nappy, Kerwin Du Bois, and Ravi B & Karma.
This was not a small after-party. The event was promoted as one massive concert featuring six leading Soca artists and three full bands, with doors opening at 8 PM and performances continuing deep into Carnival Saturday night.
For Julianspromos, Julian C. Hackett was behind the camera, shooting and later editing the highlights from the night.
The Main Event: HD Edition brought Machel Montano, Bunji Garlin, Fay-Ann Lyons and more to The International Centre during Toronto Carnival Saturday, August 2, 2014.
Machel Montano & the HD Family Take Center Stage
The event was built around Machel Montano live with the HD Family, giving Toronto fans a full-band Soca experience rather than a quick artist appearance.
By the time Machel hit the stage, Arrow Hall was packed.
The crowd stretched across the massive indoor venue, with Caribbean flags in the air and fans singing, waving and jumping as the concert rolled through the night.
Contemporary Toronto coverage singled out Machel’s appearance at Arrow Hall as one of the notable live shows happening during Carnival weekend.
Bunji Garlin & Fay-Ann Lyons Bring the Vikings Energy
Then there was Bunji Garlin and Fay-Ann Lyons, appearing with their band family and adding another full live show to an already stacked night.
Bunji was in the middle of a major international run, while Fay-Ann remained one of Soca’s most explosive live performers.
Putting them on the same bill as Machel meant Toronto audiences were getting several of the genre’s biggest stage acts without having to leave the building.
The flyer almost reads like somebody kept saying, “Add one more Soca star.”
Patrice Roberts & Farmer Nappy Join the HD Family
Patrice Roberts and Farmer Nappy added even more familiar voices from the HD Family.
Both artists were already fixtures of the Trinidad Carnival soundtrack, making their Toronto appearance a natural fit for a concert designed around live Soca.
With Machel, Patrice and Farmer Nappy appearing on the same night, fans were getting a major slice of the HD experience in Canada.
Kerwin Du Bois Was Having a Huge Year
Kerwin Du Bois arrived in Toronto during one of the defining years of his career.
His music was everywhere during the 2014 Carnival season, and his appearance gave The Main Event another artist capable of commanding the room on his own.
Instead, he was one piece of a lineup where almost every name could have headlined a major Soca fete.
Ravi B & Karma Bring Another Flavor
Ravi B & Karma brought Chutney Soca and another complete live-band experience into the mix.
That gave the night even more range.
Machel and HD. Bunji and Fay-Ann. Patrice. Farmer Nappy. Kerwin. Ravi B and Karma.
For Soca fans spending Carnival weekend in Toronto, this was basically an all-star team under one roof.
Watch The Main Event: HD Edition 2014
The Julianspromos highlights bring viewers onto the stage and into the crowd as Arrow Hall fills with flags, lights, dancers and thousands of Soca fans.
Event Date: August 2, 2014
Video Upload Date: August 12, 2014
Shot & Edited By: Julian C. Hackett
The Main Event 2014 Photo Gallery
The photos tell the story almost as loudly as the video.
Flags from across the Caribbean rise above a packed crowd while the stage lights cut through Arrow Hall. Other images put viewers right beside the performers and dancers, looking out over the sea of people from the stage itself.
[KEEP MAIN EVENT: HD EDITION PHOTO GALLERY HERE]
Scenes from The Main Event: HD Edition at The International Centre during Toronto Carnival weekend 2014.
One Huge Night of Live Soca
What made The Main Event stand out was the scale.
The International Centre listing promoted a 100,000-square-foot indoor concert space, three full bands and a lineup built specifically around live performances.
And the pictures back up the name.
The crowd was enormous.
Flags from Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Guyana, Grenada and other Caribbean nations could be seen throughout the venue, turning the concert into another celebration of the wider diaspora that comes together in Toronto every Carnival weekend.
Carnival Saturday Didn't Stop at the Parade
Earlier that day, thousands of masqueraders had taken over Toronto for the Caribbean Carnival Grand Parade.
Hours later, the energy simply moved indoors.
Contemporary Toronto event guides placed The Main Event: HD Edition among the major Carnival Saturday attractions, with Machel, Bunji, Fay-Ann, Farmer Nappy, Patrice Roberts, Kerwin Du Bois and Ravi B & Karma all advertised for the same night.
That is part of what makes Toronto Carnival weekend so intense.
The road may finish, but the party definitely doesn't.
From the Julianspromos Archives
Toronto Carnival 2014 marked Julianspromos’ first trip to Toronto and first coverage in Canada.
After years of documenting Caribbean entertainment in New York, Miami and other U.S. cities, Toronto opened an entirely new destination for the platform.
And the first trip wasn't built around just one event.
Julianspromos experienced Jab Jab J’Ouvert on Friday, went into the mas during Toronto Caribbean Carnival on Saturday, and then continued into the night for The Main Event: HD Edition.
That meant the cameras were capturing several completely different sides of one Carnival weekend — J’Ouvert, mas, crowds on the road and a huge indoor Soca concert.
At The Main Event, Julian C. Hackett handled the filming and editing, capturing the packed Arrow Hall crowd and a lineup filled with artists who were shaping the Soca sound of the period.
Toronto showed just how far Caribbean music traveled.
Many of the same artists who dominated Trinidad Carnival could arrive months later in Canada and find thousands of people ready to sing every word, wave their flags and keep Carnival going.
For Julianspromos, the weekend also represented another step outward — New York, Miami and the wider U.S. circuit had now expanded into Canada.
And with a crowd like this on the first Toronto trip, it was a pretty memorable introduction.
Event Details
Event: The Main Event: HD Edition
Date: Saturday, August 2, 2014
Doors: 8 PM
Venue: The International Centre – Arrow Hall
Address: 6900 Airport Road, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Featured Artists: Machel Montano & the HD Family, Bunji Garlin, Fay-Ann Lyons, Patrice Roberts, Farmer Nappy, Kerwin Du Bois, Ravi B & Karma
Shot & Edited By: Julian C. Hackett
Video Upload Date: August 12, 2014
