HAITI
This Friday is the last chance for fans in the United States to catch the reunion of one of Haiti’s most popular Konpa bands, Carimi. The band, which broke up in 2016, reunited two years ago to perform a series of concerts. Carlo Vieux, Richard Cavé and Mickael Guirand, who together are known as Carimi, will perform their highly anticipated reunion concert at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, the group’s final show in the United States.
“There is no Boston, there is no other city,” Cavé, the group’s band leader and keyboardist, says in a promo video. In December, the group headlined UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. But that was not their first reunion show. It was Paris in 2022 at the Accor Arena where the band mates showed that despite the internal conflicts that had led to their breakup and hiatus, they still had their chemistry —and inter-generational fan base. Unfortunately, the event also turned into one of the most tragic moments in the Haitian Music Industry.
While performing with the band before a packed European crowd, singer and frequent collaborator Michael “Mikaben” Benjamin collapsed on stage and died. His life and legacy were later celebrated in a memorial service in Miramar where the artists joined other Haitian artists on stage and sang in his honor. Miami resident Vanessa Joseph, attended the concert in New York and she’s planning on attending the Sunrise concert on Friday with her three sisters. “I’m excited to see how it plays in Miami and to see if it’s the same,” she said. “I’ve been a fan of Carimi since I was 11 years old.”
A registered nurse, Joseph, 32, said seeing the band live “brings back nostalgia” and is a chance to fulfill a wish of her younger self. “When I was younger, I couldn’t go to their concert because I was either too young or my parents were strict. Now, I get to relieve my teenage years again. Like the New York show, South Florida’s reunion concert has fans scrambling for tickets. Organizer Konpa Kingdom said in a release this week that the show was already 90 percent sold out.
Fritz “Fito” Hyacinthe, who for years managed Carimi, said the live reunion concert represents something larger than the music, which fuses American hip-hop, pop and Konpa rhythms with often socially conscious lyrics. “For me, it represents our legacy, it represents the ability, even in the most difficult situations, to come together as a unit and make something work,” he said, “and hopefully our community could look at back and say, ‘Look at these guys who broke up, had issues, but are able to come together for a bigger cause and to make a difference and to continue their legacy.’ “
“We need more unity, more collaboration between ourselves to do bigger and better things and not think too much about ourselves,” said Hyacinthe, who remains a team member. For years after the band broke up, Hyacinthe had been trying to make this moment happen. He was finally able to do so with Konpa Kingdom, which has been trying to build its brand in the Haitian music scene through a series of large scale events aimed at taking Konpa music out of parks and nightclubs and into arenas.
“This is something that was in our goal years ago, but unfortunately, we didn’t get there. But God gave us the opportunity to for a second try, and I think we’re just finishing up what we started,” Hyancinth added. “Although the band is not back together, we came together in this reunion to finish our legacy.” In recent years, both Cavé and Guirand have launched their own careers as the lead singers of Kaï and Vayb, respectively. While they’ve brought the same electrifying energy that defined Carimi to their individual ventures, fans say it is the unifying sound and their Konpa hits that they are looking forward to celebrating.
If you go:
What: Carimi Reunion Concert
When: doors open 7 p.m., concert starts at 8 p.m. Friday
Where: Amerant Bank Arena, 1 Panther Pkway., Sunrise
Cost: Tickets $110-$250 on SeatGeek.com
