Skinny, Fireman heat up Union Island at Soca Fest

A Soca experience that will have patrons talking for a while to come – two major local Soca giants performing side by side on stage, Gamal ‘Skinny Fabulous’ Doyle and Delroy ‘Fireman’ Hooper.{{more}}

And it was witnessed by the many who turned up at last Sunday’s Soca Fest on Union Island.

Locals and visitors alike partied to the sounds of some of the best names locally and from across the region.

Hooper, the reigning Soca Monarch, and Skinny Fabulous, who was dethroned after a three year winning streak in 2011, were just two of the major Soca acts to grace the stage on a night that boasted some of the region’s finest in the art form.

All backed by this country’s newest band Kinetic, the scores of patrons that flooded the Ashton hard-court were entertained by Grenada’s Marcus ‘Lavaman’ James and Barbadian Ricky ‘Lil Rick’ Reid who performed some of their biggest hits to date.

James took the stage first doing a number of his popular songs including ‘Ah cyah hear’ and ‘More Horn’.

Then it was the turn of three time Soca Monarch champion Skinny Fabulous, who ‘charged up’ the crowd making way for Fireman Hooper, who was up to his usual antics and energy filled performance.

Patrons were treated to a rarity when both Soca artistes, for a brief period during the show, set their professional differences aside and put on a performance that had the fans wanting more.

The brief display of friendship will, of course, be thrown aside when the two come up against each other in this year’s Soca Monarch competition.

Nevertheless, this rare performance set up the night’s final act and guest artiste ‘Lil Rick’ entertained with hits such as ‘Go down’ and his 2011 hit, ‘Jones and Wuk up’.

The party lasted throughout the night, ending just in time for the already energized people to journey to Big Sand for the annual j’ouvert activity. (DD)