Platinum Soca Event: Top Barbados Artistes and International Band Delight Party-Goers at BARP's Annual Festival

What do you get when you put some of Barbados’ top artistes and an internationally renowned band in one place? A guaranteed good time.

Only in its second year, Platinum Soca, hosted by the Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP), is shaping up to be a must-do event on the Crop Over calendar for hundreds of older party seekers who jammed from evening well into the night to some of the sweetest music from yesteryear and present day.

Held at the Barbados Yacht Club on Saturday, the mainly 50-plus partygoers ably demonstrated that age is only a number as they feted to every song. They eagerly followed every instruction from the performers given without showing any signs of weariness. They went down low, waved, moved left, right, moving to the infectious beats and sang along to almost every tune.

They had a ball starting with the first performer, Mighty Grynner, who sang Zouk Me, Wait For Me, Leggo I Hand and his 2024 song Mash Up The Road and ending with Adrian Clarke.

Red Plastic Bag gave them I’m Alive, Ragga Ragga with Mac Fingall – the MC – who chanted and danced the bogle and butterfly, Once Upon A Wine, Spontaneous, Something’s Happening during which the mass of people sang the chorus lustily. They didn’t have to be told to rock left and right, drop anchor or wave during Boat Ride.

When TC started with the ever-popular Wrong Name, commonly known as Kim, you knew you were in for a good session. She delighted them with that song, followed it up with Hot Sun And Riddim and ended with the 2017 hit Paradise before Biggie Irie came to sing Country, Get Busy, Pankatang and Nah Going Home. He was sweet, sweet, sweet and the audience had no objection to hearing another verse of Nah Going Home which Fingall requested.

People never tire of hearing Mr Blood’s De Plumber and Kitty Cat and when Mikey joined him for the increasingly popular 2024 soca Heart Of The Party, which Mikey wrote, it was bliss. They also sang their Soka Kartel 2013 winning Party Monarch tune, Roll It which started an avalanche of actions.

Fingall sang Ah Go Wine and Las’ Mas before the oldest band in the Caribbean, Troubadours International hit the stage for a solid two-hour long set that was sheer delight. It felt as though the temperature in the open-air venue went up a couple notches as the band, which has been playing for “just over 50 years”, performed.

With Mike Thompson and Mickey Dee on vocals, the group of talented musicians put on quite a show for fans, long-time supporters, and people who have never heard them play live before. Theirs was an eclectic set with genres and songs from different eras but mainly sweet, grown folks’ music.