KING of soca Machel Montano is planning to deliver a performance of “Machel Monday proportions” in south at Mega the Concert, his only show in south Trinidad for Carnival 2025.
Mega will be held at Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba, on February 7.
On his return to south, despite shelling down Skinner Park in San Fernando last year for Calypso Monarch semi-finals, Montano is ready to embrace his day-one south fans.
“It’s a special feeling and we’re coming to south with love and appreciation,” he told Newsday during a cellphone interview on February 6.
“Stage, lights, sound, performance time, bringing all the other acts together with us. We just wanted to do something special, and we still want to make it a fete, because we know it’s Carnival. But the scale is going to be mega, hence the name, and we’re going to give south their flowers and props, and come out of the gates with them first.”
The Pardy singer said the anticipation is building in his camp, as well as throughout Trinidad and Tobago, for his first full concert for the season.
So far, it’s been smooth sailing for the Mega prep, and the only challenge he’s been facing is which one or two of his monster hits he should leave out since there are too many to perform all.
Asked what patrons can expect from him, Montano said he’s going all out.
“We were trying to contain the length of the show, because after we started putting up the hit songs, it was difficult to tell which ones we’d leave out and which ones we’ll do longer. It’s so much – not only that, so many new, good songs.
“Straight off the bat, it’s going to be fete one time. And then we’ll think about slowing it down, get it nice, but we’re not staying there for long, because it’s designed to be back up. So expect all the hits, all the new songs performed in a very special way.”
On his 2025 Road March contender Pardy, Montano said it signifies a universal message. Pardy is currently ranked second on Apple Music's top songs in TT.
He feels “overwhelmed, grateful and accomplished” and believes it's a song everyone can relate to throughout their daily lives, whether at school or work.
Pardy is one for the people, he said.
“When the song was presented to me, I heard the potential and newness of it, but I also heard some points of nostalgia, some things that were familiar, but done in a different way.
“What stood out for me was the universal message and I felt it could relate to students, education, people in the workforce and their jobs, people’s personal feelings about overworking themselves and giving yourself a little break, patting yourself on the shoulder and even treating yourself to a lil ice cream.”
[caption id="attachment_1137462" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Machel Montano is preparing to release his new album One Degree Hotter in late February. - Photo by Anil Mathi, courtesy of Monk Music[/caption]
As for Montano himself, who's just spent two years at the University of TT, graduating with a masters in Carnival studies, and producing a forthcoming album, One
