GenXS ready for carnival with Machel Montano
GENXS HAS officially launched its second soca season, and, despite making its debut just last year, the band has quickly gained a notable reputation. Revellers across the diaspora, still buzzing with residual excitement from last year’s offerings, can anticipate even more this season.
“We definitely have been warmly received, dare I say tenfold by revellers, sponsors and the Carnival in Jamaica industry. Our sponsors have come on board passionately and aggressively, many of them inking multi-year deals”, GenXS Director Kino Johnson shares.
One such sponsor is Rum Stripe. The canned rum mixed drink and the newest addition to the Red Stripe family joins the GenXS fold with a three-year deal.
Adding to the festivities, Machel Montano, one of the biggest soca artistes from the Caribbean, was officially announced as the headliner of the GenXS carnival experience at Jouvert and on the road.
“GenX in Florida and North America and GenXS in Jamaica, we are less than a decade old each. However, the [mutual] respect and love [between GenXS and Machel] in the carnival space spans … over three decades… We’ve always supported Machel and his movements … so we appreciate that, in all his royalty as the King of Soca, we are still able to say …’We humbly invite you to come represent soca at the highest level for Carnival in Jamaica’, and he humbly responded with a yes!” Johnson said.
Since Machel Montano’s presence at Jamaica Carnival 2024 has become public knowledge, GenXS’loyal masqueraders, along with local fans of the mega-artiste, are all the more excited to play mas on April 7.
“We would’ve been selfish if we didn’t announce [Machel Montano] early. It’s a thought of GenXS only brought to life by the capable team of Sean Wallace and Rum Stripe. It takes a team to tango and to especially ensure that the dream becomes a reality. That’s just all it takes. Machel’s passion, purpose and royalty, GenXS’s drive to have a high-quality experience and, of course, Rum Stripe’s steadfast commitment to ensuring … all three of the stakeholders I mentioned are all happy and presenting that high quality of entertainment, lifestyle and pageantry to our masqueraders and Carnival in Jamaica”
Johnson expressed appreciation for GenXS’ local and international jumpers and said revellers can look forward to events leading right up to Jamaica Carnival Road March and beyond.
“Soca is forever. Every Friday in March, we will have XS Pump, our weekly soca series powered by Rum Stripe and Smirnoff. On Good Friday, it gets even greater. The best new event in the soca season is gonna be Soca Camp and XS Pump. That team is gonna merge with us for ‘Good Fri-yay’. For the rest of the year, look out for two to three GenXS events, because we believe that soca is seasonal on the calendar but it is a year-round feeling. We would be remiss to let everyone wait until next carnival season to get proper high-quality GenXS experiences. It’s also bringing what [the revellers] ask for. GenXS will always be the band to listen to our masqueraders … and have that line of communication. Because we do pride ourselves on making the experience what it is.”