One night after “Touchdown” opened the 2026 Guyana Carnival season at the Marriott Beach, the festival moved into its second event with “Stingingnettles” and the turnout made clear that the momentum from opening night carried over.
The Marriott parking lot, repurposed as the night’s venue, was at capacity. The crowd that filled it represented the same cross-section of locals, diaspora, and visitors that defined the season opener, and the energy reflected a crowd settling into the rhythm of a carnival week.
Stingingnettles assembled a lineup that went well beyond a single headliner. The night featured Kevin Lyttle, a name with deep roots in Caribbean music and a catalogue that connects across generations. His inclusion alongside newer voices gave the event a layered quality that worked in its favour.
Guyana’s reigning Soca Monarch Adrian Dutchin returned for his second consecutive night of carnival performances, continuing to anchor the local representation on the bill. Omaiah Hall, one of Guyana’s emerging voices in the soca space, also performed, as did Vicadi, Tony Cuttz, AW Lyrical and Kwasi Ace and the Fame Band a collective that brought a live band dimension to the evening’s sound.
The range across the lineup meant the night moved through different registers, keeping the crowd engaged across sets rather than front-loading all its energy toward one moment.
The headline act, Kes the Band out of Trinidad and Tobago, are one of the most established live acts in soca. Their reputation is built as much on performance craft as on catalogue, and they drew on both last night.
The band’s set drew a strong response from the crowd, which by the time they took the stage had been warmed up through several hours of preceding performances. The parking lot setting, unconventional as it sounds, held the atmosphere well, the contained space worked in the event’s favour, concentrating the energy rather than dispersing it.
Stingingnettles was the second event in what is shaping up to be a substantive carnival calendar. Back-to-back nights with distinctly different feels, and tonight we’re at STINK & DUTTAYYY
Coverage of Guyana Carnival 2026 continues.