6th Annual Haitian Compas Festival

In 1804, the Haitian slaves revolted against their French masters, won, and became the first free Black country in the world. To celebrate Haiti's 200 years of independence, Compas bands, the Haitian national soccer team and other special guests came to entertain the thousands of patriotic Haitians who attended this year's Compas Festival.

At the commencement of the show, hosts Supa Cindy of 99 Jamz and Dj Griot introduced themselves to the large crowd and promised them an evening of many surprises. The excited audience threw their hands with joy when they realized that Top-Vice was the opening act. As the hot sun beamed down on everyone's glistening foreheads, the fans swayed their hips to the fast beats. Following Top-Vice's performance, a few up and coming artists took to the stage and performed before the thousands of people. Though the artists did a fairly good job, the crowd booed them during their performances and screamed for acts like T-Vice and Kassav. It seemed that the heat made the audience impatient and unwilling to give the new artists a chance.

As the evening proceeded, everyone appeared pleased with the progression of the show as bands like Zin, Konpa Keyol, and D-Zine gave excellent performances. Carimi also put on an exceptional show, playing their hit songs while sexy background dancers moved their bodies to the beat. In the  midst of their show, it looked as though the event staff was signaling the band to get off the stage to allot time for the remaining acts to perform. However, Carimi ignored the signals and stayed on stage for an extended amount of time. Due to the Compas festival starting behind schedule and lots of down time between acts, many of the performances had to be cut short.

T-Vice started their show with a bang! The pyrotechnic display of their name lit up the stage like the fireworks on the fourth of July. The members stormed onto the platform dressed as Haitian soldiers from the revolution. The audience cheered and swung flags side to side as the band's music blared from the speakers. Just as everything seemed perfect, T-Vice stunned a few fans when they bought out a group of Caucasian-looking, Broadway type dancers onto the stage.

Djakout Mizik was the ultimate favorite of the night as the fatigued fans gained unexplainable energy at the sight of the band. Unfortunately, the musicians were only allowed about 10 minutes on stage! It was after midnight and with doors closing at 1:00 am, the promoters wanted to allow time for Kassav and King Kino to perform. Unfortunately, the crowd did not care why Djakout Mizik was taken off the stage and chanted "Djakout! Djakout! Djakout!" The host attempted to calm the audience down but when the spectators started to throw water bottles at the stage, the event organizers decided to end the concert and ask everyone to leave the premises.

Be sure to visit our photo gallery of the event!