WiFETE Music Festival, the highly anticipated Carnival in Jamaica event, just got even bigger with the announcement of dancehall sensation Valiant joining the Soca lineup of Machel Montano, Bunji Garlin, Fay-Ann Lyons, and Nailah Blackman.

Valiant, whose recent hit single Dunce Cheque has gained 16 million views on YouTube, is already being compared to incarcerated Dancehall artiste Vybz Kartel. Valiant’s rise to stardom began with a viral social media reel, but he has since proven himself with a string of hit songs like Rasta Passa, Dunce Cheque, and Speed Off, supported by popular dances Fada Rock and Guzu Bunx.

According to the concert’s promoters, Valiant’s addition was strategic.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Wi Fete (@wifeteja)

“We recognized that guests travelling to the island for Carnival in Jamaica, even staunch Soca lovers, still have an expectation that they will hear a bit of dancehall during the Road Parade. As festival promoters, we thought it would be a great touch to add Jamaica’s biggest dancehall act, Valiant, to the show to give our guests a taste of Jamaica’s culture and music,” the promoters said in a release.

Over the years, dancehall artistes have been making inroads into the Soca scene, with several major hits coming from artists such as Vybes Kartel, Shaggy, Shensea, Ding Dong, Charlie Blacks, Konshens and Admiral bailey.

WiFETE, which is billed as the only show to showcase top three Trinidad Road March song winners. It is also the only show to see Machel Montano perform, who returns to Jamaica with his entire band, inclusive of dancers for the first time in eight years.

Another first, is the inclusion and performance of Bunji Garlin, the winner of Trinidad Carnival’s Road March with Hard Fete, alongside his entire band. Nailah Blackman, completes the Trinidadian Soca trio, as the only female performer on the lineup and first runner-up for Trinidad Carnival’s Road March song of the year.

WiFETE Music Concert will take place on Carnival Saturday, April 15, 2023, at Sabina Park. Gates will open at 4 pm, and the show will start promptly at 7:00 pm, ending at midnight to ensure patrons can get ready for the Road March the following day. WiFETE is proudly sponsored by Caribbean Airlines, Red Stripe, The Jamaica Observer and WiPay.