[dropcap]F[/dropcap]eb 6th, 2018 (Gros Islet, St. Lucia) – St Lucian duo Lu City performed their latest release featuring soca king Machel Montano at Machel Monday in Trinidad on February 5th becoming the first St. Lucian duo to not only perform at the event but also the first St. Lucian artists to feature Machel Montano on a track.
As a mainstay of the Trinidad carnival entertainment scene, Machel Monday is the largest live performance show with attendance and overall viewership exceeding 80,000 people. This year’s staging not only featured soca royalty like Iwer George, Patrice Roberts, Shal Marshall, Destra Garcia and Skinny Fabulous, it also headlined international superstar French Montana.
St. Lucia’s Jean Atem and Ryie, now collectively known as Lu City sang their latest release entitled “Let It Go” which features Machel Montano. The soca-inspired release has since received a lot of praise from industry professionals and fans alike with thousands of views on YouTube within the first few days. Machel Montano introduced Lu City to thundering applause remarking that they reminded him of himself – high praise from a soca music legend. Montano recently declared the group co-winners of the inaugural Machel Music Academy – a Caribbean-wide competition against 150 new artists, songwriters and producers.
Machel, speaking about the inaugural Music Academy said; “It was a lot of fun and it is exactly the kind of work I see myself doing in addition to making music and performing. I just want to help young, aspiring artistes achieve the greatness that I’ve been striving to achieve for myself – so that they can become even greater than me. This was all more than a dream for me.”
In preparation for the 2018 staging of the Digicel sponsored Machel Monday, Lu City ran the Trinidadian media gamut speaking about the Machel Music Academy and promoting their track, “Let It Go”. While the artists are not known for partaking in this genre, their skill and artistic prowess has resulted in a track with lively lyrics with a catchy hook laid overtop a groovy-soca beat that is guaranteed to affect the waist-line of even the most die-hard soca fans.
“It was an incredible experience, we are still speechless & grateful for the honour of performing with Machel,” commented Eliot Bailey, the artists manager after the performance. “It means a lot to us to be the first St. Lucians to not only perform at such a massive event but also to be the first St. Lucian artists to feature Machel Montano on a track; it’s mind-blowing!”
Continue to stay tuned to the groups website and facebook page for information on tour dates and new releases.
