Motto, Machel Backstage Pass Barclays Center - 20,000 people in NYC 2022!

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The Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, New York was transformed into Soca Kingdom for Machel Montano's 40th-anniversary concert on September 5, 2022.

Among the many well-known performers who graced the stage at the sold-out event, Lashley "Motto" Winter made history as the first St. Lucian to perform in front of more than 20,000 spectators at the Barclays Center.

“I became part of the event because I have collaborated with Machel Montano on a few rhythm albums a few years ago. The first one was ‘Dance' on the Ole Ting Riddim and I produced and wrote a song for Machel Montano and Jacob from Kassav. So that was a big part of the reason I was part of the event. It is amazing to see a young boy from Grace, St. Lucia performing in New York City in front of 20,000 people alongside king Machel Montano. The stadium was completely sold out and that is history for soca music. It’s not just a win for St. Lucia, not just a win for me but for the Caribbean and soca to create these numbers and create history.”

According to Motto, it was a fun experience to perform his well-known hit song ‘Big Ride’ featuring Ezra D‘Fun Machine and Black Boy on the big stage.

“I performed my hit song ‘Big Ride’ featuring Ezra and Black Boy which was one of the biggest songs to make it out of St. Lucia globally and Machel Montano was also featured on that riddim with a song called ‘Gih Dem’ which I wrote for him as well. So, I did these two songs during the performance and the crowd went absolutely crazy. We brought out some big girls to dance ‘Big Ride’ and turn up the vibe. It was very fun and entertaining.”

Machel’s 40th-anniversary concert was staged by Live Nation and JayUpscale in collaboration with the Monk camp and saw performances from a slate of soca artists including Bunji Garlin, Fay Ann Lyons, Superblue, Kerwin DuBois, Nadia Batson, Voice, Lyrikal, Farmer Nappy, Skinny Fabulous and Patrice Roberts.

The concert marked Montano's first since he ended the Machel Monday show in 2020.

Follow Motto on Instagram @motto_ilovesoca for more