Jamaica’s downtown Kingston came alive with color, rhythm and nonstop energy on Easter Monday, as the highly anticipated Campari Xodus Wet Music Festival kicked off Xodus Carnival week at Port Spectrum. True to its immersive, one-of-a-kind branding, the event drew hundreds of carnival enthusiasts who spent hours embracing the full experience: mixing sun, splashing water, vibrant paint and colored powder, and relentless soca beats that kept crowds moving from pre-dawn until late morning.
Even an early 4:00 a.m. start time failed to dampen the spirit of diehard soca fans, with many arriving hours before sunrise to secure their spot and mark the official launch of the week-long carnival celebration. A stacked lineup of top-tier disc jockeys, including fan favorites Travis World, Tony X, Sinistar, Zess, Rico The DJ, Papi Jae, Fatalic, and Tegabrooks, kept the energy soaring for hours, with wet, paint-dusted partygoers dancing continuously until the event wrapped up just 20 minutes before noon.
One of the festival’s defining features was its massive foam pit, a hit with attendees of all ages. Building on the momentum of the successful inaugural staging in October 2025, organizers upped the ante for 2026 by offering branded Xodus Wet monokinis for pre-order and purchase as early as 2025, giving attendees the chance to pick up themed apparel ahead of the main event.
Scott Dunn, Group Managing Director of Dream Entertainment Limited, which produces the festival, shared his unreservedly positive assessment of the day’s events in an interview with the Jamaica Observer following the fete. “Campari Xodus Wet met all our metrics for success: crowd size, production quality, food and beverage offerings, and overall vibe,” he said, noting that he had no major complaints about how the day unfolded.
Thanks to strategic collaborative partnerships with major food brands, attendees enjoyed complimentary catering from well-known names including Elle & Vire, Foska Oats, Pizza Hut, and KFC, adding extra value for early-morning partygoers who worked up an appetite dancing.
The highlight of the festival came with a headlining live set from Trinidadian soca superstar and celebrated songwriter Voice, who delivered a high-energy performance packed with his most popular hits, including *Cyah Behave*, *Pandemonium*, and *Dear Promoter*. In a surprise crowd-pleasing moment, Voice invited legendary Trinidadian soca veteran Iwer George to the stage, where George delivered a fitting performance of his iconic track *Water* that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
By the time the festival drew to a close, the Port Spectrum venue was transformed into a vivid kaleidoscope of rainbow hues from the paint and powder. Many attendees left so saturated with water and paint that some discarded clothing items that were too stained and soaked to be cleaned and saved.
With the wet festival marking only the start of Xodus Carnival week, Dunn confirmed that Dream Entertainment is fully prepared to deliver the full “Xodus Xperience” for the rest of the season, which has been in planning for a full year under the event name OlympiX. “We’ve got five more large-scale events, costume distribution, and the biggest Road March Carnival Jamaica has ever seen coming up,” he said. “Everyone needs to feel what the Xodus Xperience is all about. Even if you only make it to one event this week, you’ll leave feeling like part of the Xodus Family.”