R.A.V.E. Miami Carnival Week 2012: Machel Montano, Bunji Garlin, Kes & More

During Miami Carnival Week 2012, Julianspromos covered R.A.V.E., capturing performances and interviews with a wide cross-section of Caribbean artists during one of the busiest Soca weekends of the year.

The surviving Julianspromos collection includes Machel Montano, Bunji Garlin, Kerwin Du Bois, Kes, Ricardo Drue, Mr. Vegas, KI and Sizwe. Several of the artists also sat down with Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson, making R.A.V.E. one of the more extensive surviving examples of her event-interview work from Julianspromos’ early multimedia period.

Rather than returning from the event with a single performance clip, Julianspromos produced a collection spanning live highlights, pre- and post-performance interviews and individual artist conversations, giving the archive a much fuller record of R.A.V.E. and Miami Carnival Week in 2012.

Machel Montano at R.A.V.E.

The surviving coverage includes Machel Montano performance highlights, placing one of Soca’s biggest artists at the center of the R.A.V.E. 2012 archive.

The original Julianspromos video is preserved as “Rave 2012 Miami Highlights - Machel Montano ‘Miami Carnival Week’,” directly connecting the performance to R.A.V.E. and that year’s Miami Carnival celebrations.

Coming during Machel’s hugely visible 2012 period, the footage provides another surviving look at the artist within the Miami Carnival circuit while Julianspromos was still building the extensive performance archive that would follow.

Bunji Garlin Interview with Vivaa

Julianspromos also captured an original interview with Bunji Garlin, conducted by Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson.

The video is preserved as “2012 Bunji Garlin Interview w. Vivaa - R.A.V.E. Miami Carnival Week.”

The conversation adds editorial depth to the archive. Rather than R.A.V.E. surviving only through stage footage, Julianspromos was able to document artists directly and preserve their presence at the event through original interviews.

Kerwin Du Bois: Performance & Post-Show Interview

Kerwin Du Bois received particularly complete coverage.

Julianspromos captured his performance and followed it with a post-performance interview, preserving both sides of his R.A.V.E. appearance.

The original upload identifies the footage as “Kerwin Dubois Performance & Post Interview @ R.A.V.E (Miami Carnival Week 2012).”

This performance-and-interview format had become increasingly useful to Julianspromos by 2012, allowing viewers to experience an artist on stage and then hear from them directly after the performance.

Kes Interview with Vivaa

Kes was another major Soca name interviewed by Vivaa during R.A.V.E.

The surviving upload is titled “2012 Kes Interview w. Vivaa R.A.V.E. Miami Carnival Week.”

Kes’ inclusion adds another major Trinidad and Tobago act to a night that already featured several of the artists shaping Soca during the period.

Ricardo Drue Interview

The R.A.V.E. archive also preserves Ricardo Drue speaking with Vivaa.

The original Julianspromos title confirms the interview as part of R.A.V.E. during Miami Carnival Week 2012.

Ricardo Drue’s appearance is particularly useful to the historical archive because it demonstrates the range of artists Julianspromos was documenting. The coverage was not limited to the biggest headline performers. The platform was also building an interview record around artists representing different parts of the wider Soca scene.

Mr. Vegas Performance Highlights

R.A.V.E. was not exclusively a Soca event in Julianspromos’ surviving coverage.

Jamaican artist Mr. Vegas appears in a dedicated set of performance highlights.

The original video is titled “R.A.V.E Miami 2012 Mr Vegas Performance Highlights @ R.A.V.E [Miami Carnival Week 2012].”

His inclusion brought dancehall into a collection otherwise heavily connected to Soca, reflecting the wider Caribbean musical mix found throughout Miami Carnival Weekend.

KI Interview with Vivaa

KI also spoke with Vivaa as part of the event coverage.

The surviving video identifies the segment as “2012 KI Interview w. Vivaa - R.A.V.E Miami Carnival Week.”

Together with the earlier Six Flags footage from 2012, the R.A.V.E. interview shows Julianspromos continuing to document KI across different events and markets rather than capturing only a single isolated appearance.

Sizwe Interview

The collection is rounded out by Vivaa’s interview with Sizwe.

The original upload is preserved as “2012 Sizwe Interview w. Vivaa @ R.A.V.E - Miami Carnival Week.”

Its inclusion brings the surviving R.A.V.E. collection to at least eight separate pieces of Julianspromos video coverage.

One of Julianspromos’ Stronger 2012 Event Collections

What makes R.A.V.E. particularly valuable today is the amount of original media that survived from a single event.

The collection includes major stage footage from Machel Montano and Mr. Vegas, a combined performance-and-interview feature with Kerwin Du Bois, and interviews with Bunji Garlin, Kes, Ricardo Drue, KI and Sizwe.

That volume allows R.A.V.E. to be reconstructed as an event archive, rather than reducing the night to whichever individual video happened to remain easiest to find years later.

It also provides a strong snapshot of Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson’s 2012 correspondent work. At R.A.V.E. alone, the surviving material places her in conversations with multiple artists from across the Soca scene.

R.A.V.E. and Julianspromos’ Miami Growth

R.A.V.E. was already established within the Miami Carnival event circuit by this period. Records from 2010 show the event being promoted during Miami Carnival with Caribbean artists and DJs, demonstrating that it was not simply a one-off 2012 gathering.

For Julianspromos, covering R.A.V.E. in 2012 formed part of the company’s broader expansion into Miami.

That year’s surviving archive now includes artist interviews, Carnival events, Ram Jam Bash and other Miami assignments. R.A.V.E. stands out because of the number and variety of artists Julianspromos was able to document during one event.

Preserving R.A.V.E. Miami 2012

More than a decade later, the surviving R.A.V.E. videos provide a substantial record of Miami Carnival Week 2012.

They preserve performances from Machel Montano, Kerwin Du Bois and Mr. Vegas, alongside Julianspromos interviews involving Bunji Garlin, Kes, Ricardo Drue, KI, Sizwe and Kerwin Du Bois.

Together, the videos document an impressive concentration of Caribbean talent at one Miami Carnival event while preserving another important stage in the development of Julianspromos’ original event and interview coverage.

What originally existed as a series of separate YouTube uploads can now be reunited as the fuller historical record of R.A.V.E. Miami Carnival Week 2012.