International soca artist Scrappy announced today a rebranding for his annual Soca Music Festival, now in its third year.
The change, he said, comes with plans to grow the brand by joining forces with the Liverpool carnival.
“After being solely devoted to the Caribbean’s Soca music genre since its launch in 2014, the festival has evolved into displaying the array of Caribbean music genres,” the artist also known as Garvin Johnson explained.
“We’re taking the show on the road and Liverpool is 2016’s new location for the Caribbean Music Festival. This year Liverpool Carnival is celebrating its first carnival parade and with its exciting new plans, the Caribbean Music festival will bring live Caribbean festival entertainment to the stage.”
Luton was the previous home of the festival. Commenting on the move to Liverpool, Johnson who serves as the Event Director said “We’re extremely excited to be taking the festival to Liverpool Carnival. The carnival is getting even bigger in Liverpool and it’s a great time to be bringing the festival to a new audience.”
The outdoor music festival experience is still the root of the festival. The weekend will start with the festival launch party, then the festival stage goes live on the Saturday with the Liverpool Carnival big parade and ends with an after party.
The soca entertainer said the festival is designed to make its audience escape into the Caribbean, mimicking the look and feel of a Caribbean island street party with a live Caribbean band and artists creating a party atmosphere. The lineup extends across the reggae, soca, calypso and salsa.
Johnson admits the change in strategy was not without much thought. “Soca music is our passion and the original reason for the festival was to create more awareness to the sounds of Soca. The change comes because comparing the sounds of Caribbean music allows us to depict the diverse nature of Caribbean music while highlighting similarities and influences on each other.”
To find out about the Caribbean Music Festival visit www.caribbeanmusicfestival.co.uk to find out more details.
