Sold Out Show. Machel Does It Again! This Time at Barclays Centre, Brooklyn.

The power to deliver time and time again; those may be the best words to define the man who has carried Soca music for four decades. Machel Montano sold out the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn on Monday night, showing the world that Soca music does hold its own in the business of music and entertainment.

In the lead up to the 40th anniversary show in New York, Montano excitedly shared behind the scenes moments at rehearsals and with fellow entertainers, Bunji Garlin, Fay Ann Lyons, Skinny Fabulous, SuperBlue and Problem Child. He raved at the fact that young soca star, Voice would be a part of the show, as would female sensations, Patrice Roberts and Nadia Batson. The hysteria surrounding the mammoth event, was undeniably strong.

Preliminary snippets shot via phone by eager patrons, showed moments of Soca ecstasy as Fay Ann Lyons took the stage, and together with Bunji and Skinny Fabulous, Machel delivered the Road March winning anthem, ”Famalay.” Lyons- Alvarez, in a post on social media on Monday morning wrote , “Being in a room with such musically accomplished men, it’s awesome being a woman with the same titles. All these men have won multiple Road march and Soca Monarch titles, and being the only female with three Road March and two Soca Monarch titles…it was great going through the structure for MM40.” Hours later, she would mount the stage in a black, superhero-like ensemble, paired with knee-high boots and a face covering that would leave her audience awestruck.

In the aftermath of the show on Monday night, Montano offered thanks via social media to all who’d made the event possible. “Every Single seat sold and then some!” he wrote before calling out a number of people, including his dancers and the artistes who shared the stage with him. He said, “I can’t explain how this makes me feel , there are just not enough words that could ever explain!!! To all of the fans , those from New York and all those who flew in , all Caribbean People and all the other countries that represented last night, the Soca lovers, my friends and family. The whole ah Kingdom came down !!!!!! I love you all , I thank you all for making this dream a reality! WE DID IT … no radio, no tv … we did it in ah real life!!! Thank you!!!”