In preparation for the first ever Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival, scheduled to kick off in New Providence this weekend, Alpha Sounds teamed up with Kayo Productions to bring Bahamians the full carnival experience with Survival Weekend: 72 hours of Soca fete.

Survival Weekend kicked off on Friday night last week at SuperClubs Breezes Bahamas resort, with a tribute to Bahamian legend Ronnie Butler, who had everyone from ages 18 to 50 rocking to his all-time favorite tunes like "Burma Road", "Age Ain't Nothing But A Number", "Sweet Emily" and much more.

Butler serenaded the crowd and offered advice to young Bahamians about life. However, the legend did not leave the stage without letting his fans know how much he loves his country.

"I just want you all to know that I love my Bahamas and I always feel so good when I get to perform for you all," said Butler.

Helping to pay tribute to the Bahamian legend was Bahamian pop artists Julien Believe followed by Angelique Sabrina and Ebony with the Sky Juice Band.

Julien Believe hit the stage with his fan favorite hits "Live and Wine" and "Turn Up For Junkanoo" before a crowd of thousands of Bahamians who sang every lyric.

The young pop artist said it was an honor to perform after legendary Ronnie Butler and there are many things he has learned from those who came before him.

Believe introduced pop sensation Angelique Sabrina, who gave a power performance with her Junkanoo influenced tracks "Make Ya Feel Good" and "We Are The Night" before teasing the crowd with her international hits "Stop Sign" and "Pull up".

The young entertainer also shared how much she is influenced by Bahamian entertainers and how honored she felt to share a stage with Ronnie Butler. Trevor Davis of Alpha Sounds said he felt that it was time to pay tribute to Butler, as he and the singer has had a father son relationship for over a decade.

"Ronnie Butler is one who is true to his word and easy going and an easy to work with artist... We've had a father son relationship for over 15 years," said Davis.

However, the night was still young as the crowd anticipated performances from big names in the soca industry like "Feeling Sexy" singer Patrice Roberts, Lil Rick, "Too Real" Singer Kerwin Dubois and Lyrikal.

Partygoers who survived the first night said Saturday night was even more epic, with more soca and Bahamian artists taking the stage and even a surprise guest came out to show support.

Bahamian songbird Wendi, who is best known for her vocals on "Happy Hour" with the Bahamian band Visage, performed that tune, with a little help from Dyson Knight, as well as her own records "One Song" and "Make it Loud", which has been burning up local airwaves for the past few months.

Following Wendi was Bahamian artist Puzzle, who also rocked the crowd with his popular records "Touch Di Road" and "Birthday Song". Bajan artist Fadda Fox got the crowd hype when he came on stage with his hit single "Duckin'" as the entire audience ducked and sang.

Just when the audience thought they had an amazing night, they got a special surprise appearance from the soca king himself and the headliner for Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival, Machel Montano, who sang a rendition of the popular Rake 'n' Scrape song "Mamma Don' Wan' No Rakin' 'n' Scrapin' in Here" before playing a snippet of the soca fete anthem "Like Ah Boss", which was the highlight of the night.

Just before the surprise though, Skinny Fabulous also hit the stage to get the crowd pumping with "Worst Behavior" followed by "Big People Party" singer Farmer Nappy. The second night ended with Trinidadian singer Olatunji who sang his smash single "Ola" as the deejays of the night Eternal Vibes and DJ Stephen fused junkanoo with soca for the perfect party fete music to get everybody in the mood for Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival.

Davis also noted that the importance of the entire Survival Weekend was to give many Bahamian artists a platform to showcase their talents before their fellow Bahamians as well as gain international recognition.

Survival weekend wrapped up on Sunday afternoon with a beach party at SuperClubs Breezes Bahamas resort with Dyson Knight opening the event with his well known songs and a very energetic performance with "Drop Down and Come up Slow", "Rake n Scrape and Rum" and new singles from his Carnival Day album "Every Gal" And Pumping".

"I was happy to be a part of such an historical event and the fact that Bahamian deejays are choosing to frontline more Bahamian artists will open many doors for us in the future," said Knight.

Other artists including 5 Star Akil, Flippo and Ricardo Rolle also performed during Sunday's event.
Davis said the entire process of planning Survival Weekend was strategic and the concept of Survival Weekend was to brand it and create a name that would stick around for years to come.

"I think it was a huge success because thousands of people came out to the event on Friday and Saturday and hundreds came out to the beach on Sunday," said Davis. "We had no major issues while planning the event, our networking with the artists was really strong and more Bahamian artists would definitely be chosen for these kinds of events."

Davis also said the next event is May 30 when the Queen of Bacchanal, Destra, would be in The Bahamas to perform the popular song, "Lucy".

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