In the breezy heat of a Brooklyn summer night, DJ Michaël Brun leads a jubilant crowd of 8,000 chanting: “Bayo! Bayo!” Translated from Haitian Creole, “bayo” means “To give.” It's not only the name of one of Brun’s most loved songs, it's the namesake of his yearly festival that’s taken on new meaning amid its biggest show yet. In years past, Brun and his team have toured the BAYO show around cities in the US and the Caribbean, but for the 2024 edition, the festival was consolidated into one night (June 15), in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, to become the destination event for the diaspora.
As fans of all ages fill up the bandshell seating area and back hundreds of yards to the fences, Haitian, Jamaican, Guyanese and Trinidadian flags are donned as fashion at the waist, the neck, the head and, naturally, as extensions of waving hands. “If you never experienced what Haitian culture, Caribbean culture felt like, it's supposed to be the most concise version of that in a single event,” Brun laughs. “The whole focus is on bringing joy.
” For Brun, that joy started with a collaboration back in 2016. The musician, who is Haitian and Guyanese and grew up in Haiti, was on a trip to Gonave Island to assist with a school’s music program. Working with the children inspired Brun and his collaborators, Strong G, J Perry and Baky, to give the students an anthem of confidence.
“So much of Haiti in the international news and conversations people would have about the c.
