What is a throne without a king?… Well carnival 2024 will for the first time without its King Machel Montano, as he focuses on obtaining a Master of Arts degree, in Carnival studies at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT).

The announcement was made on Sunday night when Montano received the keys to the City of San Fernando at Skinner Park from Mayor Robert Parris. Machel told the audience he had made the announcement last year, “but I don’t think it registered.”

He explained “This is my second year, I am writing my thesis. This is my final year. The work is very heavy,” and pointed
to intense studies in the history of calypso, steelband, and mas, along with academic writing, history, and social sciences.

The King of SOCA continued saying “I am doing all of this because I want to set a foundation for the next level of Machel Montanos who are coming.”

“If you don’t know where you are coming from, you can’t know where you are going,” Montana added.

He went on to encourage everyone to anticipate greater things from him in the future.