Kes The Band delivered the gift of soca music, island heat and pelting waist to a packed HISTORY in Toronto for their annual holiday show over the weekend.
This year’s KesMAS was a sonic trip to Port of Spain’s Savannah, filled with brand new and timeless Carnival-ready tracks led by the band’s frontman Kes (Kees Dieffenthaller) that brought the Trinidadian heat to a chilly winter night.
Opening the 10 p.m. show promptly with his latest release “Rum & Coca-Cola,” the crowd responded immediately: cups, hands, and flags shot into the air as the entire venue sang along, a surprising feat for a song that had only been officially released a week earlier.
Kes, visibly in awe, tapped his hand over his heart. “This is my home,” he repeatedly said with conviction.
The band bounced everywhere in their discography, from 2025 hit “Medicine” to 2018 deep-cut “Love It,” but really found their groove with the crowd for about six songs straight of non-stop bangers. Waistlines were activated in this next section between both Kes and the audience, because from “Tack Back” to “Boss Lady (Sign Me Up”), to “Hello” to “Banga,” it was impossible to stand still. As it heated up, Kes had ditched his long sleeve green dress shirt and stripped down to just a plain-white tee at this point.
“You know what I love? Everybody from around the world in the party having a good time,” he said, giving everybody barely one minute to catch their breath from the back-to-back hits before continuing again.
Next up was “No Sweetness,” which was even more of a treat when he blended in some covers of the other biggest tracks on the Big Links Riddim like Yung Bredda’s “Greatest Bend Over,” and Full Blown Entertainment’s own “Good Spirits.”
His late 2024 release “Cocoa Tea” sounded just as amazing live, especially as he slowed it down towards the end before picking back up with a surprise appearance from fellow Trini soca artist Benjai. The duo sang their lively 2025 collaboration “Carnival Friend” before Benjai took the stage to give us a performance of the decade-old (yet still timeless) “Phenomenal.”
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Kes concert without their breakout hit “Wotless,” in the city that started it all, beginning with a stripped down piano version before the iconic calypso beat rolled in.
“I feel like, I just win a million dollars,” the venue screamed as he turned the mic towards us.
The upbeat vibe continued with “Mental Day” with a slight pause as a front row fan raised a gift for him – a crochet Blanket etched into a Trinidad flag. Kes kissed and hugged the blanket in appreciation, before putting it around his neck. “Super Trinidad man right now,” he said, urging everyone in the audience to raise their own flags. Immediately, you witnessed a beautiful display of Caribbean unity – Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados, Dominica, Dominican Republic, and St. Vincent were just a few of probably dozens more.
But draped in his homeland, the loudest cheer definitely went up for Trinidad and Tobago.
“Once a Trini reach in yuh fete, it’s niceness,” Kes sang the lyrics of “Dear Promoter.” “They can’t party like we.”
While Kes remains a flawless frontman, the spotlight also belonged to The Band, who maintained the high energy from start to finish. A rock-heavy rendition of “Stage Gone Bad” put their musicianship fully on display, turning that moment into a standout of the night. “We come to mash it down, shell it down, and turn it over,” Kes declared as towels whipped through the air, while also blending in other major soca songs like Problem Child’s “Nasty Up” and Machel Montano’s “Famalay.”
As Kes launched into “Savannah Grass,” it was clear the night was drawing to a close. The song — the very essence of Trini Carnival — felt freeing, pulling the room through the visuals on the projector and straight into Port of Spain’s Queen’s Park Savannah.
After thanking Toronto for its unwavering support, Kes exited the stage, only to sprint back out for one final encore, giving the crowd a last, sweet taste of “Rum & Coca-Cola.”
KesMAS delivered a magical year-end finale, and as his final show for all of 2025, it only built even more anticipation for Kes’ next big fete coming up at Trinidad Carnival in February 2026. A trip to sweet T&T, anyone?
