Sunrise Breakfast Party Jamaica 2015: Machel Montano, Blaxx & Angela Hunte at Hope Zoo
Before Jamaica Carnival hit the road on Sunday, Soca fans were already awake and partying before sunrise.
On Saturday, April 11, 2015, Sunnation brought its Sunrise Breakfast Party to Hope Zoo at Hope Gardens in Kingston, turning Carnival Saturday morning into an all-inclusive mix of Soca, breakfast, premium drinks and live performances.
The party was advertised from 4:30 AM to 11:00 AM, with patrons choosing whether they wanted to fete in the sun, shade or mist.
Julianspromos was there with Intrigue Lane hosting the coverage and Julian C. Hackett filming and editing.
Carnival Saturday Starts Before Sunrise
Sunrise was built around one simple idea: why wait until night to fete?
By the time much of Kingston was waking up, Hope Zoo was already filled with Soca.
The 2015 flyer promoted an early 4:30 AM start, with admission priced at US$90 / J$9,000 and tickets available through CPJ Market, Pita Grill, Ambassadors and Eventbrite.
The setting helped give Sunrise its identity.
Rather than an indoor club or nighttime concert, patrons were surrounded by the greenery of Hope Gardens while deciding whether to spend the morning in the sun, shade or mist.
Contemporary Gleaner coverage from immediately after the event described Sunrise as an established premium breakfast party and highlighted those same three environments.
Breakfast, Drinks and Soca at Hope Zoo
Food was not an afterthought at Sunrise.
One contemporary attendee described breakfast offerings ranging from ackee and saltfish and fresh fruit to stew chicken and eggs Benedict, with a dedicated food area alongside the party.
That combination helped Sunrise stand apart from the typical fete.
You could arrive before sunrise, eat breakfast, grab a drink and still find yourself in front of a Soca stage before most people had started their Saturday.
Machel Montano Takes the Sunrise Stage
The biggest name on the stage was Machel Montano.
Contemporary coverage from the weekend confirms Machel performed at Sunrise, with Jamaica’s Gleaner even capturing him backstage with Trinidad and Tobago fashion designer Anya Ayoung-Chee before his performance.
For Jamaica Carnival, having one of Soca’s biggest artists performing on Carnival Saturday morning added another major event to an already packed weekend.
Blaxx and Angela Hunte Join the Lineup
Machel was not alone.
Blaxx and Angela Hunte were also among the live performers at Sunrise 2015. A first-person account from the event specifically recalls seeing all three — Blaxx, Machel and Angela Hunte — perform during the morning party.
That gave Sunrise a lineup that reached across different parts of the Soca world while Jamaica’s own Carnival weekend was reaching its peak.
Intrigue Lane Takes Viewers Inside Sunrise
For Julianspromos, Intrigue Lane hosted the coverage from inside the party.
The camera moved beyond the stage to show the patrons, fashion, interviews and atmosphere around Hope Zoo, giving viewers a feel for what an early-morning Carnival fete in Kingston actually looked like in 2015.
Julian C. Hackett filmed and edited the coverage, continuing the international Carnival work Julianspromos was doing across the Caribbean during this period.
Watch Sunrise Breakfast Party Jamaica 2015
The original Julianspromos highlights take viewers inside Sunrise for the people, performances and atmosphere surrounding one of Jamaica Carnival weekend’s biggest breakfast parties.
Event Date: April 11, 2015
Video Upload Date: April 19, 2015
Julianspromos Host: Intrigue Lane
Camera: Julian C. Hackett
Edited by: Julian C. Hackett
The video also features music from the 2015 Soca season, including Kerwin Du Bois’ “No Apology” and the System32 remix of Olatunji’s “Ola.”
Sunrise Breakfast Party 2015 Photo Gallery
The Julianspromos photo coverage expands the story beyond the highlights video, capturing the patrons, Carnival fashion, interviews and tropical setting surrounding Sunrise.
Sunrise Was Already Becoming a Jamaica Carnival Tradition
Sunrise did not begin in 2015.
Contemporary Caribbean coverage places the event’s beginnings around 2012, with the 2013 edition described as its second year. That earlier coverage already portrayed Sunrise as an all-inclusive Carnival Saturday ritual built around Soca, Caribbean breakfast and early-morning partying.
By 2015, the concept had grown into the Hope Zoo experience captured by Julianspromos.
And it kept growing.
More than a decade later, Sunnation still stages Sunrise during Jamaica Carnival, with Jamaican media continuing to describe it as one of the Carnival calendar’s signature breakfast-party experiences.
One Morning Before Jamaica Hit the Road
Sunrise took place just one day before the 2015 Bacchanal Jamaica Road March.
That made Saturday morning part of a much bigger Carnival weekend for Julianspromos.
Sunrise brought the breakfast fete.
Sunday brought the road.
And Intrigue Lane and Julian C. Hackett were there documenting both sides of Jamaica Carnival.
Read Next: 2015 Bacchanal Jamaica Carnival Highlights
https://julianspromos.com/archives/2015-bacchanal-jamaica-carnival-highlights
Event Details
Event: Sunrise Breakfast Party
Date: Saturday, April 11, 2015
Venue: Hope Zoo at Hope Gardens
Location: Kingston, Jamaica
Advertised Time: 4:30 AM–11:00 AM
Presented By: Sunnation
Live Performances: Machel Montano, Blaxx & Angela Hunte
Experience: All-inclusive breakfast party
Admission: US$90 / J$9,000
Age: 18+
Julianspromos Host: Intrigue Lane
Camera: Julian C. Hackett
Editor: Julian C. Hackett
Video Upload Date: April 19, 2015
Sunrise 2015 was exactly what the name promised: Soca, food, drinks and live performances as Kingston moved from darkness into Carnival Saturday morning.
