Elevation 2015: Destra, Shal Marshall & Skinny Fabulous Take Over the DMV

One year after Kes The Band brought Elevation to Washington, DC, Full Stop Entertainment returned with a new venue, a bigger artist lineup and a fresh theme for 2015.

On Saturday, November 21, 2015, Elevation: Pure Bacchanal — The Ultimate Day Party took over Cococabana Bar & Grill in Hyattsville, Maryland, with live performances from Destra Garcia, Shal Marshall and Skinny Fabulous.

The party ran from 5 PM to 1 AM, bringing Trinidad and Tobago and St. Vincent together for another major dose of Soca in the DMV.

Julianspromos was back for the second consecutive Elevation edition, with Intrigue Lane hosting the coverage and Julian C. Hackett filming and editing the event.

Pure Bacchanal Comes to Maryland

The 2015 edition looked very different from the year before.

Elevation had moved from Look Lounge in Washington, DC to Cococabana in Hyattsville, and Full Stop Entertainment promoted the night under a title that left very little mystery about the plan:

Pure Bacchanal.

The live lineup featured three artists built for a high-energy Soca crowd:

Destra Garcia.
Shal Marshall.
Skinny Fabulous.

DJs From New York, Toronto & DC

Before the live artists took over, Elevation brought together DJs from several major Caribbean party markets.

The original flyer advertised:

Back 2 Basics — New York
Tony X — New York
Dr. Jay — Toronto
DJ Majestic — Washington, DC

That mix connected the DMV party to Caribbean scenes across North America, with Soca moving through New York, Toronto, Washington and beyond.

Shal Marshall Gets the Live Show Started

Shal Marshall was part of the night's three-artist live lineup, bringing his Trinidad Soca catalogue to Cococabana.

By 2015, songs such as “Motorbike,” “Motivation” and “Police” had helped make him a familiar name on international Soca stages.

Once the live performances began, Elevation shifted from DJ-driven fete into a full Soca showcase.

Skinny Fabulous Brings St. Vincent to the DMV

Then came Skinny Fabulous.

The Vincentian artist had already developed a reputation for high-energy performances that could change the mood of a room almost immediately.

With Skinny on the same bill as Shal Marshall and Destra Garcia, Elevation gave the DMV crowd three very different Soca personalities in one night.

The Crowd Was Waiting for Destra

At the center of the lineup was Destra Garcia.

By November 2015, Destra was already firmly established as one of Soca's most recognizable international performers, with a catalogue built for exactly this kind of party.

And unlike the old archive version that incorrectly placed this Elevation appearance in 2014, the corrected date puts the performance in its proper context.

This was November 21, 2015.

By then, songs from the previous Carnival season were already familiar to Soca audiences, and Destra was arriving in Maryland as the night's major headliner rather than an artist on the verge of a new release.

The Cococabana crowd knew who they had come to see.

Krave The Band Hosts Pure Bacchanal

The original flyer lists Krave The Band as the official event host.

That role was separate from the Julianspromos media coverage.

Event Host: Krave The Band
Julianspromos Host: Intrigue Lane

That distinction gives both parts of the night their proper credit.

Julianspromos Returns to Elevation

Julianspromos had documented Elevation the previous year at Look Lounge in Washington, DC.

For the 2014 edition, Intrigue Lane hosted the coverage while Julian C. Hackett filmed and edited, with Kes The Band and Yankey Boy performing live.

One year later, the team followed Elevation into Maryland.

The venue changed.

The lineup changed.

But Intrigue Lane was back on the mic, and Julian C. Hackett was once again behind the camera and editing the finished coverage.

Elevation 2015 Photo Gallery

Take another look inside Pure Bacchanal with photos from the artists, DJs, crowd and Cococabana atmosphere.

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The DMV Story Started Before Elevation

Julianspromos' history in the Washington area goes back further than the two Elevation editions.

The brand's first major Washington-area assignment came in 2012 at Jammin' in the Park, where Rifa Madness interviewed Destra Garcia and Kes The Band for Julianspromos.

Those two artists would both appear again in later DMV coverage.

Kes returned to the Julianspromos camera at Elevation 2014.

Then Destra became one of the headliners of Elevation 2015.

Over a few years, Washington and the surrounding DMV developed into another place where Julianspromos could regularly reconnect with Soca artists the team had documented elsewhere.

From the Julianspromos Archives

Looking at the two Elevation editions separately gives each year its own story.

In 2014, Elevation was an afternoon event at Look Lounge in Washington, DC, with Kes The Band and Yankey Boy.

In 2015, the event moved into Maryland, adopted the Pure Bacchanal theme and brought together Destra Garcia, Shal Marshall and Skinny Fabulous at Cococabana.

Both editions were hosted for Julianspromos by Intrigue Lane, with Julian C. Hackett filming and editing the coverage.

Read Previous: Elevation 2014 — Kes The Band & Yankey Boy in Washington, DC

https://julianspromos.com/archives/2014-elevation-day-fete-highlights-washington-dc

Event Details

Event: Elevation: Pure Bacchanal — The Ultimate Day Party
Date: Saturday, November 21, 2015
Time: 5:00 PM–1:00 AM
Venue: Cococabana Bar & Grill
Address: 2031A University Boulevard E, Hyattsville, Maryland 20783
Presented By: Full Stop Entertainment
Live Performances: Skinny Fabulous, Destra Garcia & Shal Marshall
Event Host: Krave The Band
Music By: Back 2 Basics (NY), Tony X (NY), Dr. Jay (Toronto) & DJ Majestic (DC)
Julianspromos Host: Intrigue Lane
Camera: Julian C. Hackett
Editor: Julian C. Hackett