On Saturday May 16, 2009, the 11th Annual Compas Festival took place in Bicentennial Park in Downtown, Miami.  with a line up that included the majority of the bands are currently labeled “the hottest in the Haitian Music Industry”. Unlike previous years, the festival’s line up was made up of more than 15 bands, something that looks like a stage management nightmare, even on paper, and nearly impossible to pull off successfully. But also unlike in previous years, the organizers thought it would be a good idea to build two stages to cut down on down dead time, thus giving the festival a chance of being on schedule. As one entered the park and saw the two stages set up, you get the feeling that they might actually pull it off; but as the evening matured in to nightfall it became evident that the two-stage investment more of a challenge than a solution. The crew was unprepared and unable to manage the double stage setting and as a result, the sound was bad, sometimes muffled and eventually, one of the stages went out of commission for a couple of hours. The show continued.

The gospel band Revelations, which includes former Nu-Look bass player Felder Antione; opened up the festival and they were very well received in the beginning by the public who during their performance. Soon after the crowd started nodding their heads calmly and clapped in a fashion as if to let them know the were ready for the official Compas Festival festivities to start. Their set lasted about 30 minutes and as an opening act they did the best the could in that setting however you can hear some people in the crowd questioning whether or not this was a good idea since the Christian church frown upon their church members’ participating in “worldly” event.

Orchestre Septentrional, known for being a musical institution, performed with a team of new, and younger musicians, most of them unknown to the public. Musically though, they didn’t do bad but with all the younger members crowding up the stage in their simple T-Shirt and Jean attire, they seemed out of place since Septen, as the fans affectionately call them, is usually dressed up in uniform whenever and wherever they perform and furthermore, they were this year’s special performers in light of their 60th Anniversary. Their set was supposed to be the highlight of the evening but that wasn’t the case. Nevertheless, their accomplishments didn’t go unnoticed.

Less popular groups like Gabel and Back Up made the effort but maybe the lack of crowd response they received was mostly due to the fact that they hit the stage early and the few people that were present then weren’t too enthusiastic. It would have made more sense to have Compas bands play a little later and have some of those unknown and up coming Rap Kreyol groups fill in during the early hours of the festival; after all it is a Compas Festival.

Super Rap Kreyol group ROCKFAM LAME A got socially conscious at the festival. They reminded the people who might have forgotten just days before the festival, that many Haitian died at sea trying to escape the poverty of the motherland for a better life in the US. The group went on to put on a good performance but was cut short as they were rushed off stage to make room for the following acts.

Next up was Zin. Easily the best performance of the evening not because of the choreography and visual effects that complimented the song Depi’m wè’w but because of the surprise performance of crowd favorite and former member, Princess Gerogy. The chemistry was there although you can tell some members were a little uncomfortable but it looks like they were going through the healing process right on stage. The sight of her asking Alan to loosen her sandals’ straps and teasing Alex was priceless and reminiscent of the old days when the band was riding high. Maybe she could have acknowledged her female counter-part Nia on stage but I digress. The band band performed Lanmou Sa, Kok and a few other fan favorites.
Kreyol La really did an impressive job this year. Being the underdogs of most festivals, they stepped up to the plate this year holding firm with the big dog.

Nu Look’s sound was probably the best sound of the whole night, good song selection but as always, in the showmanship and stage visual department there was nothing to write home about.

CaRiMi, along with Orchestre Septentrional were the only bands to not put any effort into their appearance; a decision that shocked many fans who witnessed last year when they put on an exceptional show. They probably knew what they were doing because their fans didn’t care for any of that. CaRiMi must have had the best crowd reaction throughout the festival. All you heard was roars during their set, go figure.

Djakout Mizik was thinking in the box literally when they came out. Shabba and Pouchon made their grand appearance in a box. It took them a few minutes to get out; something that had a few people worried. Once the “lòbèy” came out that’s all you heard from the crowd.

T-Vice really had a nice stage visual going. The colors on stage really lit it up.

Honorable mention goes to Black Dada and Kevin Little. This should be a lesson to the festival organizers; unless you’re making a Caribbean Festival, don’t waste you money on mediocre artist from other genres. Would you go to a Calypso festival because one Haitian band was going to be there?

According to park officials, this year’s Haitian Compas Festival gathered a measly 13,091 attendees, a drastic change from last year’s nearly 20,000. The change in number may be attributed to the recession or more realistically to the other competing Haitian music festival, Al Compas Festival that took place a few miles north in Boward County on the same day. With the glitches here and there with the stage, down time, the festival pulled through leaving most of its attendees satisfied mainly because the organizers and bands really worked hard on bringing a show. Overall, the 11th Annual Compas Festival was a success if you’re not too caught up in numbers. A real show was prepared and not just gimmick to bring in large numbers. If Noel and Cecibon keep that in, mind this festival will grow to a bigger and broader audience. With success comes a lot of challenges and as long this organization remember to keep their eyes on the prize of promoting Haitian music and culture, they will have continuing success.