Brooklyn Public Library will celebrate the life and five-decade career of soca star Machel Montano with a new exhibition highlighting his music, Caribbean heritage, and longstanding ties to Brooklyn.
“Journey of a Soca King: The Exhibition” opens August 22, 2026, at the library’s Central Library and features costumes, trophies, vinyl records, and other artifacts from Montano’s career. Created by the Machel Montano Foundation for Greatness, the exhibition will also allow visitors to hear his music at the library’s vinyl listening station and view footage tracing his life and performances.
Montano, a Trinidad and Tobago native, began performing in 1982 at age 7 and released his debut album, “Too Young To Soca,” in 1985. He has since become one of the genre’s most prominent performers, helping bring soca to international audiences.
Brooklyn played an early role in Montano’s development. At age 9, he attended summer programming in the borough through a scholarship and participated in workshops that helped shape his career. He later lived on Utica Avenue and recorded his road march “Big Truck” in Brooklyn in the 1990s.
“Brooklyn helped raise me,” Montano said, adding that he hopes young visitors will see their own culture reflected in the exhibition and recognize that it “deserves that kind of space.”
The exhibition follows the 2026 documentary “Like Ah Boss: Journey of a Soca King,” which chronicles Montano’s career, including 16 performances during Trinidad and Tobago’s 2015 Carnival season. The film will be projected on Central Library’s facade Sept. 3.
Library President and CEO Linda E. Johnson said the exhibition reflects the institution’s commitment to preserving the stories and cultural contributions of Brooklyn’s Caribbean communities.
Programs tied to the exhibition will also be held at library branches in Caribbean communities across Brooklyn, including Clarendon, Rugby, Crown Heights, Flatbush, and Brower Park. Activities will include readings, arts and crafts workshops, and other cultural programs for children and adults.
The exhibition follows other major Brooklyn Public Library presentations focused on cultural figures and movements, including James Baldwin, W.E.B. Du Bois, and the 2023 “Book of HOV” exhibition devoted to Jay-Z.
