Saint Lucia Carnival 2015: Parade of the Bands Takes Over Castries
Feathers, color and Soca filled the streets of Castries on Monday, July 20 and Tuesday, July 21, 2015, as Saint Lucia Carnival 2015 reached its climax with the annual Parade of the Bands.
Nine adult bands took part in the two-day road experience, moving south along the John Compton Highway and through the Castries city circuit as masqueraders brought months of costume design, band preparation and Carnival music onto the road.
The parade closed a Carnival season that had officially launched in May and stretched through Soca Monarch, Calypso, Panorama, King and Queen of the Bands, J’Ouvert and other national events before ending with two days of mas.
Nine Bands Bring Mas to the Road
The 2015 Parade of the Bands brought together nine adult Carnival bands, each carrying its own theme, design language and sections through Castries.
At the end of judging, Tribe of Twel captured Band of the Year with “Amerindia: Legacy of the Aztecs,” scoring 405 points.
Red Unlimited placed second with “YinYang: Balance ’n’ Harmony,” while Royalites Xtreme finished third with “Beneath It All.”
Tribe of Twel also dominated several of the major mas categories, taking Best Design, Best Portrayal of Theme and Section of the Year. The band had already won both King and Queen of the Bands earlier in the season.
Amerindia Leads the 2015 Competition
Tribe of Twel’s winning presentation, “Amerindia: Legacy of the Aztecs,” became one of the defining visual stories of Saint Lucia Carnival 2015.
The presentation earned first place for both theme and design, while its King and Queen portrayals — “Quetzalcoatl” and “Xochiquetzal” — also took the top titles in their respective competitions.
Across the road, each competing band added another layer of color and movement to the two-day parade, turning central Castries into a constantly changing display of mas.
“Perfect Storm” Rules the Road
The music driving the parade had its own competition.
Ricky T and Superman HD captured the 2015 Road March title with “Perfect Storm,” which was counted 34 times at the official judging points.
The song finished well ahead of CJ’s “Sweaf Juke,” while Hollywood HP’s “I Ready to Work” and Sedale’s “Neighbour” tied for third.
“Perfect Storm” had already carried Ricky T and Superman HD to the Power Soca Monarch title, making it one of the major songs of the 2015 Saint Lucia Carnival season.
Mas on the Move
Beyond Band of the Year, the road itself was part of the competition.
Red Unlimited and Royalites Xtreme tied for the 2015 Mas on the Move title, both scoring 72 points, while Tribe of Twel followed in third.
That category captured a different side of Carnival judging: not simply how a costume looked standing still, but how a band performed, moved and maintained its energy as it traveled through the streets.
The parade was never only about individual costumes.
It was about how hundreds of masqueraders turned a band’s theme into something alive.
Two Days Through Castries
Saint Lucia’s Carnival road experience stretched across both Monday and Tuesday.
Bands moved through the city circuit as spectators gathered along the route, with music trucks and Soca carrying the celebration through Castries.
The second day brought the season to its official close on July 21, ending nearly two months of national Carnival activity.
A Full Saint Lucia Carnival Season
The Parade of the Bands was the final chapter of a season filled with competition.
Pantime won the National Panorama title for a third consecutive year, while Walleigh retained the Calypso Monarch crown.
Arthur won Groovy Soca Monarch with “I Am West Indian,” while Ricky T and Superman HD took the Power title with Perfect Storm.
By the time the bands reached the road, those songs, costumes and competitions had all become part of the wider Carnival story.
From the Julianspromos Archives
The 2015 Saint Lucia Carnival coverage came through a limited content partnership between CLTV and Julianspromos during 2015.
The original Carnival footage was shot in Saint Lucia by Caribbean Live TV, capturing the Parade of the Bands and the road experience through Castries.
Julian C. Hackett edited and presented the footage for Julianspromos, creating the finished “2015 Lucian Carnival Highlights – St. Lucia Carnival” feature.
The collaboration allowed Julianspromos to expand its 2015 Caribbean Carnival archive beyond assignments its own team physically filmed, while keeping the original production credit with the Caribbean media team that captured the event.
