P.C.D. New York 2013–2016: Inside the Soca Cure for Post Carnival Depression
Carnival ends.
The costumes come off. The flights leave Trinidad. Everybody goes back to work.
But the Soca is still playing in your head.
That feeling became the idea behind P.C.D. — Post Carnival Depression, a New York fete built around one of the most relatable jokes in Carnival culture: Trinidad Carnival may be finished, but nobody is actually ready for it to be over.
The answer was simple — bring the Carnival energy back to New York.
From 2013 through 2016, Julianspromos provided media coverage of P.C.D. for four consecutive years, documenting an event that brought some of the season’s biggest Soca artists, freshest Carnival records and familiar DJs back together only weeks after Trinidad Carnival.
Across those four editions, the Julianspromos cameras captured Bunji Garlin, Fay-Ann Lyons, Kerwin Du Bois, Lyrikal, 5Star Akil, Olatunji, Ricardo Drue, Teddyson John, Preedy and more. What began as four years of event coverage now also helps tell the story of a New York Soca institution that continued long after 2016.
The Idea Behind P.C.D.: Carnival Is Over, but the Vibes Aren’t
The brilliance of P.C.D. has always been its concept.
“Post Carnival Depression” was already a familiar phrase among people returning home from Trinidad Carnival — that strange period when weeks of fetes, road music, costumes and nonstop Soca suddenly end and normal life starts again.
P.C.D. turned that feeling into an event.
Rather than trying to create an unrelated spring party, the fete positioned itself as the cure.
Artists came to New York carrying music that had just dominated Trinidad Carnival. DJs could play the season without it feeling old. Patrons who had traveled to Trinidad could relive some of what they had just experienced, while those who missed Carnival could get a taste of the year's music and performers without leaving New York.
That basic idea has proven remarkably durable.
Even the official P.C.D. 2026 promotion described the event as a way to get “relief” from Post Carnival Depression and experience a taste of Trinidad Carnival in New York.
That continuity is a big part of what makes P.C.D. different.
The artists change.
The venues change.
The Soca season changes.
But every year, Carnival ends — and the concept starts making sense all over again.
P.C.D. New York 2013: Bunji, Fay-Ann and a Major Soca Year
The first P.C.D. edition documented by Julianspromos took place on Sunday, March 24, 2013 at LQ / Latin Quarters in Manhattan.
The lineup included Bunji Garlin, Fay-Ann Lyons and Lyrikal, with Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson hosting the Julianspromos coverage.
And in hindsight, 2013 could hardly have been a more interesting year to have Bunji Garlin in front of the cameras.
Bunji had entered the Carnival season with “Differentology,” a record that sounded different from much of the Soca around it. During the months that followed, the song would grow far beyond Trinidad Carnival and become one of the defining crossover Soca records of the decade. By the end of 2013, Bunji was discussing the song’s international breakthrough and the new possibilities opening for Soca outside its traditional seasonal model.
P.C.D. caught him much earlier in that journey.
The footage captured P.C.D. during an exciting period for Soca, as Bunji Garlin’s music was beginning to reach increasingly international audiences.
Julianspromos also captured an original interview with Bunji Garlin and Fay-Ann Lyons, hosted by Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson.
The coverage also produced an original Bunji Garlin and Fay-Ann Lyons interview with Vivaa, giving the 2013 archive more than stage performances alone.
Fay-Ann already carried one of the strongest competitive résumés in modern Soca, while Bunji was entering a year that would significantly broaden his international profile.
Together with Lyrikal, their appearance gave the first year of Julianspromos P.C.D. coverage a lineup that looks even stronger in retrospect.
P.C.D. 2013 in Photos
The 2013 chapter should not end with the video.
The photo gallery gives a wider look at the event — the crowd, artists, stage, performances and the atmosphere surrounding one of New York’s early post-Carnival Soca fetes that year.
Placed beside the video and Bunji/Fay-Ann interview, the photographs help turn 2013 into a fuller record of the night rather than simply a highlights clip.
P.C.D. New York 2013 — original Julianspromos event coverage.
By the following year, P.C.D. was back — and the concept was becoming a recognizable part of New York's post-Carnival calendar.
P.C.D. New York 2014: Fresh From Trinidad Carnival
On Sunday, March 23, 2014, P.C.D. returned at LQ / Latin Quarters in Manhattan.
Presented by ShorBlu Events and Back2Basics Entertainment, the lineup featured:
Kerwin Du Bois
Lyrikal
5Star Akil
Music came from SLI, Pantrin Vybz, Sounds4Life, Back2Basics and Milo Myles, with Tony Cross hosting the event.
The timing was exactly what made P.C.D. work.
Kerwin Du Bois had just returned from one of the biggest Carnival seasons of his career.
Only weeks earlier, “Too Real” had won him the 2014 International Groovy Soca Monarch title, making him one of the hottest names coming directly out of Trinidad Carnival.
Now New York could hear that same music while the season was still fresh.
That was P.C.D.’s sweet spot.
It was not a nostalgia party looking back at Carnival months later.
It was an extension of the season.
Lyrikal Goes From Performer to Guest Host
The 2014 Julianspromos coverage also gave Lyrikal a second role.
Along with performing, he stepped in as Julianspromos guest host, adding artist interviews and personality to the event coverage while Julian C. Hackett handled the video production.
The resulting highlights preserve performances including:
5Star Akil — “Never Done,” “Partier” and “To Meh Heart”
Lyrikal — “Conquer Meh,” “Ramajay” and “Lockdown”
Kerwin Du Bois — material including “Press A Button,” “Bacchanal,” “Monster Winer” and the newly crowned “Too Real.”
The original Julianspromos video was uploaded on March 24, 2014, one day after the event.
Moving P.C.D. into LQ also placed the event in a well-established Manhattan nightlife venue at 511 Lexington Avenue, another sign that this was becoming more than a one-off post-Carnival party.
The video preserves performances including songs from 5Star Akil, Lyrikal and an extended set from Kerwin Du Bois.
P.C.D. New York 2014 in Photos
The 2014 gallery adds another layer to the event beyond the performances captured on video.
The photographs preserve the artists, crowd and atmosphere inside LQ / Latin Quarters during a year when P.C.D. was already becoming a recognizable part of New York’s post-Carnival Soca calendar.
With Kerwin Du Bois, Lyrikal and 5Star Akil all appearing that year, the gallery helps document not just the stage performances, but the wider feel of the event while those 2014 Carnival songs were still fresh.
P.C.D. New York 2015: The Event Moves to Stage48
P.C.D. returned on Sunday, March 8, 2015, this time at Stage48 in Manhattan.
The move gave the event a larger concert-style setting at 605 West 48th Street, a multi-level entertainment venue built around a substantial performance stage.
The lineup again reflected what P.C.D. did best:
Kerwin Du Bois
Olatunji
Ricardo Drue
Lyrikal
These were not simply familiar Soca names booked months after their Carnival season had passed.
Several arrived in New York directly connected to some of 2015 Carnival’s biggest music.
Olatunji Arrives as the New Groovy Soca Monarch
Only weeks before P.C.D., Olatunji had won the 2015 International Groovy Soca Monarch title with “Ola.”
The song had become one of Trinidad Carnival 2015’s defining records and helped introduce an Afro-influenced Soca sound to a much wider audience.
At P.C.D., New Yorkers were therefore seeing the reigning Groovy Soca Monarch almost immediately after Carnival.
That is the event concept working exactly as intended.
Carnival finishes in Trinidad.
The artists travel.
The songs travel with them.
And P.C.D. gives New York another place to experience them while the season is still hot.
Ricardo Drue, Lyrikal and a Strong 2015 Cast
Ricardo Drue was also coming directly out of an important Carnival season.
His hit “Vagabond” placed third in the 2015 Groovy Soca Monarch competition, behind Olatunji and Farmer Nappy. Lyrikal was carrying “Cloud Nine,” another prominent record from that year's season.
The lineup therefore brought together Trinidad, Antigua and the wider Caribbean Soca circuit on one New York stage.
Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson hosted the Julianspromos coverage, continuing her role in the P.C.D. story.
P.C.D. New York 2015 in Photos
The existing gallery adds another side to the event.
Alongside the stage footage, the photographs capture Vivaa with artists including Ricardo Drue and Lyrikal and preserve moments from inside Stage48 that a highlights video alone cannot show.
By this point, P.C.D. had developed a recognizable rhythm:
Trinidad Carnival ends.
The newest Soca records leave Port of Spain.
P.C.D. brings the season to New York.
P.C.D. New York 2016: Four Years of Julianspromos Coverage
On Sunday, February 28, 2016, P.C.D. returned to Stage48.
The lineup featured another strong cross-section of current Soca:
Teddyson John
Preedy
Ricardo Drue
Lyrikal
Kerwin Du Bois
For Julianspromos, Julian C. Hackett handled video coverage while Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson served as media correspondent.
The original 2016 production described P.C.D. as New York’s annual return fete immediately after Trinidad Carnival — a chance to either relive Carnival or catch up on the year's hits for people who had not made the trip to Trinidad.
That description gets to the heart of why the event lasted.
From Trinidad Carnival to Stage48
Teddyson John arrived with “Allez,” one of the records that had exploded across the international Soca circuit heading into 2016.
Preedy brought “Away.”
Ricardo Drue performed “Professional.”
Lyrikal and Kerwin Du Bois returned once again, giving P.C.D. continuity from earlier editions while newer records entered the rotation.
Julianspromos preserved not only the overall event highlights but individual performance footage from the night, including Preedy’s live performance of “Away.”
P.C.D. New York 2016 in Photos
The 2016 gallery rounds out four consecutive years of P.C.D. coverage with another look beyond the stage.
The photographs capture the artists, crowd and atmosphere inside Stage48 as Teddyson John, Preedy, Ricardo Drue, Lyrikal and Kerwin Du Bois brought another fresh Carnival season into New York.
Together with the performance footage, the gallery gives a fuller picture of the final year in this four-year Julianspromos P.C.D. run.
After four consecutive years, a pattern had become clear.
P.C.D. was not built around one artist or one venue.
It was built around the Carnival cycle itself.
Every year, Trinidad Carnival ended. The biggest Soca records traveled with the artists. New Yorkers returned home wishing Carnival could last a little longer.
P.C.D. gave them somewhere to go next.
Why P.C.D. Worked
Most recurring events need a new theme every year.
P.C.D. never really did.
Its concept renewed itself automatically every time Trinidad Carnival ended.
The flights home.
The videos still filling everyone's phones.
The songs nobody was ready to stop hearing.
The people already talking about next year.
“Post Carnival Depression” turned a feeling familiar to Carnival lovers into an event people immediately understood.
The joke was part of the branding: Carnival was over, you had P.C.D., and the party was the treatment.
More than a decade later, that same idea remained part of the event. ShorBlu's 2026 promotion still presented P.C.D. as “relief” and another taste of Trinidad Carnival in New York.
That consistency helps explain its longevity.
The artists change.
The Soca changes.
The venues change.
But every Carnival season eventually ends.
And P.C.D. still has a reason to return.
A Long-Running Relationship With ShorBlu and Back2Basics
P.C.D. also became part of a lasting relationship between Julianspromos, ShorBlu Events and Back2Basics Entertainment.
Beginning during this period, ShorBlu and Back2Basics became long-time partners of Julianspromos, with the relationship extending across numerous Caribbean events over the years.
P.C.D. was one of the recurring events where that partnership could be seen clearly.
ShorBlu and Back2Basics brought together the artists, DJs and Carnival audience.
Julianspromos preserved performances, interviews, photographs and moments from the events, helping extend the experience beyond the people who were physically inside the venue.
That relationship continued as New York's Caribbean entertainment scene evolved.
P.C.D. Didn't End in 2016
The four years from 2013 through 2016 represent only one part of the P.C.D. story.
The event kept going.
New York editions followed in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and P.C.D. returned again in the years after the pandemic.
By 2024, the event had reached The Great Hall at Avant Gardner in Brooklyn, with a lineup featuring Mical Teja, Bunji Garlin, Kerwin Du Bois, Nailah Blackman and Pumpa, alongside DJ Private Ryan and other DJs.
P.C.D. returned to Avant Gardner in 2025, with names including Bunji Garlin, Full Blown, Mical Teja, Shal Marshall, Ding Dong, Trilla G and DJ Private Ryan.
And on March 1, 2026, P.C.D. happened again in New York.
The lineup included:
Bunji Garlin
Mical Teja
Lady Lava
Full Blown Entertainment
Anika Berry
ShorBlu Events remained part of the production, joined by Live By The Henny and King Leo, while the event continued building on a history that stretched back well over a decade.
There was also a fitting full-circle moment.
Bunji Garlin, one of the artists Julianspromos documented at P.C.D. in 2013, was still performing at P.C.D. in 2026.
Thirteen years separated those appearances.
The Carnival songs had changed.
The venues had changed.
A new generation of Soca artists had joined the lineup.
But P.C.D. was still built around the same feeling that inspired the event in the first place:
Carnival was finished, and people still wanted more.
From the Julianspromos Archives
The years 2013 through 2016 capture P.C.D. during an important period for New York Soca.
In 2013, Bunji Garlin and Fay-Ann Lyons appeared as “Differentology” was beginning a year that would dramatically expand Bunji's international profile.
In 2014, Kerwin Du Bois arrived fresh from winning the International Groovy Soca Monarch title with “Too Real.”
In 2015, newly crowned Groovy Soca Monarch Olatunji brought “Ola” to Stage48 alongside Ricardo Drue, Lyrikal and Kerwin Du Bois.
By 2016, Teddyson John, Preedy, Ricardo Drue, Lyrikal and Kerwin Du Bois were carrying another new Carnival season into New York.
Across those four years, Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson, Julian C. Hackett and the Julianspromos media team captured performances, interviews and photographs from an event that would prove far more enduring than anyone needed to predict at the time.
Today, those moments sit within a much longer P.C.D. history.
The artists and venues have changed, but the concept has survived because the feeling behind it never really disappeared.
For Carnival lovers, there is always that first week back home.
And for more than a decade, P.C.D. has offered New York the same answer:
Carnival done — but nobody ready to go home yet.
