CONTENTS

ISSUE 152 | AUGUST 2023

REGULAR

05.

20.

37. EVENTS

Your

14. MICAL TEJA

17. NAILAH BLACKMAN

15. AND APPEARING NEAR YOU SOON:

The Notting Hill Carnival season brings with it visiting artists, this year to include: Anika Berry, Asa Bantan, Freetown Collective, Jadel, Lavaman, Olatunji Yearwood, Kes The Band, Voice, Crazy, Red Plastic Bag, & Nailah Blackman

FITNESS

46. COACH RHO

Hear it from a professional: get ready for Carnival

Notting

HILL CARNIVAL

08. FEATURE Notting Hill Carnival: A Brief History

22. LONDON CALYPSO TENT

It’s all about calypso and soca, as you soak up the culture

24. CARNIVAL ROUTE MAP

Find your way around Notting Hill Carnival - stopping by the Bounty Bars as you go

26. PANORAMA

‘Pan, sweet pan’: seven bands compete for the coveted title

28. J’OUVERT

Its time to get Dirty/ Dutty. May your days be filled with paint, powder, oil mud and chocolate

30. MAS BANDS

LISTING

Don't just spectate, partcipate

34. CHILDREN’S DAY

44. ADULTS’ DAY

SOCANEWS.COM

GET LISTED: If you’re a carnival organiser, promoter, mas band, steelband, soca sound, community group or other participant who’s feeling left out because we didn’t mention your event, or if you’d like to advertise in the magazine or online, the remedy is in your hands. Get in touch: email us at info@socanews.com or call on 0333 012 4643.

PUBLISHER & EDITOR

Joseph Charles jc@socanews.com

CREATIVE

Joseph Charles

Lawson Lovell

Daniel Boateng

SUB EDITOR

Katie Segal katie@socanews.com

CONSULTING EDITOR

Stephen Spark stephen@socanews.com

Hello Soca People

Mas come again.... is the opening line of Mical Teja's 2023 hit, Mas - and no truer words have been said as we approach Notting Hill Carnival in this month of August. With just weeks to go, I have found myself saying to anyone who has requested anything non-urgent of me that I will have a look after Carnival.

Yes, Carnival tends to dominate our lives for a period of time. For many it's all about the fêtes, with a rough count of around 40 for the 2023 Notting Hill Carnival season; see our extensive list of events on page 37. If you are yet to find a band to play with, there are also pages for that: our listing can be found on page 30.

Some of the events we think you should check out this Carnival are Vibes with Voicey, Kes and Oui Fete, and to soak up the traditional vibes of a calypso tent check out the London Calypso Tent on Fridays 11, 18 and Thursday 24 August, at the Tabernacle.

As always, we are open to discovering new writers. If you would like to put pen to paper and to have your words put into print, please email jc@socanews.com. If you feel like telling us about your experience in mas or at a fete, we’d love to hear from you; just email info@socanews.com.

All that’s left to say is to have a joyous Notting Hill Carnival 2023. We will see you on the road.

YOURS IN SOCA

Joseph Charles

MARKETING marketing@socanews.com

SALES sales@socanews.com

WORDS

Bruce Mahagwa, Dunstan Creavalle, Ernest Adonu, Katie Segal, Michael La Rose, Stephen Spark, Radeya Osman & Vanessa Felix

PICTURES

Kola Grafix, Peter Hogan & Stephen Spark instagram.com/socanews twitter.com/socanews

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