Jojo Lorquet of all people must have wanted to give Rodney Noel the finger for a while now. So what did he do? He got together with others to make sure the gesture was long enough to stick it in Compas Festival’s organizers’ faces. Jojo Lorquet and company have put together a festival in Fort Lauderdale (hereafter FL) to go head-to-head with Compas Festival (hereafter CF) in Miami on the same day in May of next year.
The lineups are as follows:
Compas Festival: Djakout Mizik, Kreyola La, Back Up, Mizik Mizik, Harmonik, Brother Possie, Zin, Carimi, Nu Look, and Do-La.
Fort Lauderdale Festival (TARGET NOT OFFICIAL): T-Vice, Zenglen, System Band, Krezi, Strings, Gabel, Tabou Combo, Sweet Mickey, Hangout, and Barikad Crew.
Should Compas Festival be worried?
Maybe! The lineup of the FL festival mainly consists of bands that were either banned from Compas Festival, never really got a chance to be a part of it, or just bands that participated but ended up on bad terms with the organizers. For example, Krezi, due to their differences with Kreyol La (whom Rodney prefers), has not played at CF for the past three years, opening them up to any new festival. Zenglen stopped performing at CF due to personal issues with the organizers. Gabel, who I doubt was ever even invited, is a new band. CF might have to put their differences aside with certain bands and reopen their gates to them. They might want to start with T-Vice, as they’re still available.
Should Fort Lauderdale Festival be worried?
Hell, yes! It’s a new festival and very risky (especially considering who’s behind it) to go up against the most successful annual Haitian music festival ever. They would have to wake up pretty early in the morning—better yet, never sleep until that day—to even hold a candle to Compas Festival. The last festival that competed against another in NY ended on a sour note.
Should the bands be worried?
Yes! If this festival goes wrong and only happens once, the bands that went against Compas Festival may never play at CF again. However, if the festival picks up, they might find a new festival home to participate in around that month. HMI and musicians who feel this is completely wrong express that this could have easily been done to them, and they’re not for it at all.
How does this concern you, the fan?
Well, it doesn’t—just make sure when you’re buying those tickets, you know which festival they are for. I wouldn’t be surprised if one mimics the other.
