About Machel

Machel Montano is the most dominant force in the genre of soca music.

Born November 24th, 1974, in Port of Spain, Trinidad, of humble beginnings to a small family, Machel Montano has become one of Trinidad and Tobago’s top entertainers, earning him the title the “King of Soca”.

Machel’s career began in 1982 at age seven and set him on his mission of taking Soca into the domain of mainstream music. One of his earliest and greatest achievements was his May 1984 appearance at Madison Square Garden in the Felt Forum in New York City at the age of 9 where he was billed as a support act for the Mighty Sparrow and other top Calypsonians. Montano’s debut album “Too Young To Soca”, released in 1985, was an instant hit which earned rave reviews and standing ovations at live performances. In April of 1986, the young performer appeared on the popular television show, Star Search, bringing Soca music to US national television.

For the next thirty plus years Machel has toured extensively throughout the world and has been pushing the envelope to revolutionize Soca and take it to many markets including all of the Caribbean, North and Central America, Europe, Africa and Asia. He has shared stages with music’s biggest names including Rihanna, Drake, DJ Khaled, Major Lazer, Ashanti, French Montana and many more.

Machel has received many awards including Best Caribbean Artiste of the Year in 2008 at the 1st Annual BET J Virtual Awards and the Bob Marley Award Entertainer of the Year at the International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA) at the historic Apollo Theatre in New York, that same year. In May 2010, Machel, as special guest artiste for the U.S. shows, embarked on a 5-week tour with International Recording Artiste, Pitbull on his Mr. Worldwide Carnival tour.

Back home in Trinidad & Tobago he has secured many top accolades throughout his career including 7 Soca Monarch titles and 10 Road March titles. In 2018, Machel received an Honourary Doctorate in the Arts from The University of Trinidad and Tobago. In 2021, Machel was inducted into the Young, Gifted & Black Caribbean Music Entertainment ICON Hall of Fame and received an award from Harvard University’s Caribbean Club for Entertainer of the Year.