DROP: Soca cruise show to start 2021
SHARLENE RAMPERSAD
sharlene.rampersad@guardian.co.tt
Although he broke some hearts on Monday night when he closed the curtains on his iconic Machel Monday concert, soca superstar Machel Montano is not finished yet.
Addressing thousands of fans at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Montano announced a brand new event for Carnival 2021- a soca cruise called ‘Melé, Carnival at sea.’
“This is the last Machel Monday but if I tell you bigger things coming, you think I could do something better than this?” Montano asked. “I’m out to take you out on a ride in 2021, imagine me on the shore, Machel Monday is the shore, we going to leave the shore behind and going out to the sea.”
Montano said the event will see him teaming up with mas band Tribe for an all-inclusive cruise that will set sail from Florida.
In the description on the event website, Melé is described as a once-in-a-lifetime experience and fans can pre-register by completing a form on the website to book a cabin onboard the cruise.
“In 2021, Machel Montano x TRIBE Carnival brings you a new adventure, a once-in-a-lifetime experience; the bucket-list item you never knew you needed to check off; the next-level of mas,” the website says in the “About the cruise” section.
The concert itself was a night supercharged with emotions, as fans crowded into the stadium from as early 6.30 pm, braving an almost constant drizzle of rain throughout the night to dance, jump and wine in the soca kingdom.
Montano kept spirits high with throwback performances of his greatest soca hits throughout the years.
Joined by some thirty other performers throughout the night, from Tarrus Riley to Angela Hunte to Afro B - there was not a dull moment at the show.
Most of his fans wore white- answering Montano’s call for them to dress for his wedding. Their outfits ranged from simple- jeans and t-shirts- to elaborate formal wear, some even donning three-piece suits and ties to jump up to their favourite soca hits. Thousands of fans were gifted with slices of wedding cake on entering the venue.
Machel kept his promise to fans to get married in front of them- a second wedding in just days for himself and his longtime sweetheart, Renee Butcher. The two were legally wed on February 14 in a simple civil ceremony at the newly refurbished Red House in Port-of-Spain - creating history by being the first couple to get married at the Red House in 20 years.
At the concert, in an elaborate ceremony officiated by Pastor Clive Dottin, the two held hands and recited vows to each other, before Dottin once again pronounced them married.
The pair were crowned with Hummingbird crowns before they shared a kiss and danced in front of Montano’s adoring fans to bring the almost six-hour show to an end - and to close off a decade of Machel Monday’s.
