2014 DJ Norie Anything Goes Live Labor Day Highlights
Julianspromos was in Queens, New York on Saturday, August 30, 2014 for the Labor Day Weekend edition of DJ Norie’s Anything Goes Live, documenting a major Caribbean concert during New York Carnival weekend.
Held at Amazura in Queens, the event brought together leading names from Reggae and Dancehall, with performances from Spice, Tessanne Chin, Beenie Man, Gyptian, Bugle, Assassin and more. The event was presented by DJ Norie and Power 105.1.
Original Julianspromos media coverage featured Marsha Monelle and Calvin Tucker, with the final video edited by Julian Hackett.
Anything Goes Live During New York Carnival Weekend
Anything Goes Live had already developed into an established New York Caribbean concert series by the time Julianspromos documented its 2014 Labor Day Weekend edition.
The series was created by DJ Norie, the New York radio personality known for his work on Power 105.1 FM. According to the event’s official history, Anything Goes Live first launched in March 2010 to celebrate Norie’s first year on Power 105.1, before developing into a recurring concert series showcasing major Caribbean artists.
Its Labor Day Weekend editions became especially well placed within New York’s Caribbean entertainment calendar, arriving as thousands of visitors and members of the Caribbean diaspora gathered in the city for the West Indian American Day Carnival.
A Major Caribbean Lineup at Amazura
The 2014 edition brought a strong Jamaican lineup to the Amazura stage.
Spice was already one of Dancehall’s most recognizable female performers, while Beenie Man brought decades of Jamaican music history to the concert.
The lineup also included Tessanne Chin, who had gained major international attention after winning The Voice in the United States, alongside Gyptian, Bugle and Assassin.
The original Julianspromos footage therefore preserves a particularly interesting snapshot of Jamaican music in 2014, bringing established stars and artists from different generations together during one of New York’s busiest Caribbean weekends.
Independent touring records also place Gyptian at Anything Goes in Queens on August 30, 2014, supporting the event information preserved by Julianspromos.
Amazura and New York’s Caribbean Concert Circuit
Amazura became an important venue within New York’s Caribbean concert scene, particularly for large Reggae, Dancehall and Soca events.
The Queens venue repeatedly hosted Anything Goes Live and other Caribbean productions surrounding Labor Day weekend, giving promoters the ability to stage large concert lineups away from the parade itself.
Anything Goes Live would continue returning to Labor Day Weekend in the years that followed. By 2018, The Source described the series as entering its eighth year, again highlighting its connection to New York’s Labor Day Caribbean celebrations.
Marsha Monelle and Calvin Tucker on the Scene
For the 2014 event, Marsha Monelle and Calvin Tucker represented Julianspromos on location.
Their footage captured the artists, performances and atmosphere inside Amazura, while Julian Hackett edited the finished Julianspromos production.
The coverage reflects the collaborative multimedia model Julianspromos was developing during this period, with correspondents and camera operators documenting Caribbean entertainment in different cities while the final content was distributed through the growing Julianspromos digital network.
More Than Carnival Parade Coverage
Anything Goes Live is also valuable within the archive because it documents another side of New York Carnival weekend.
The West Indian American Day Parade on Eastern Parkway may have been the centerpiece of Labor Day celebrations, but the surrounding weekend had developed into a much broader Caribbean entertainment economy filled with concerts, fetes, J’Ouvert events, artist appearances and nightlife.
By preserving events such as Anything Goes Live alongside its road and Carnival coverage, Julianspromos documented both the cultural and entertainment sides of New York’s Caribbean weekend.
A Long-Running Caribbean Concert Brand
The historical value of the footage has increased because Anything Goes Live did not disappear after 2014.
The event’s official history says the series grew into a biannual Caribbean concert brand, with individual shows drawing audiences ranging from approximately 1,500 to more than 6,000 attendees.
Later editions continued bringing prominent Reggae, Dancehall and Soca performers to New York, establishing Anything Goes Live as a recurring platform for Caribbean music in the city.
The Julianspromos footage therefore preserves the series during an earlier stage of a run that would continue for years afterward.
Part of the Julianspromos Multimedia Era
The Anything Goes Live coverage came during an important period in Julianspromos history.
By 2014, Julianspromos had expanded beyond its original focus on digital Caribbean music promotion into artist interviews, concerts, Carnival coverage and original multimedia production.
That same year marked the JulianspromosTV YouTube channel reaching 100,000 subscribers, reflecting the growing audience for the company’s original Caribbean video content.
Coverage such as Anything Goes Live helped build the experience that would lead into Julianspromos’ larger international multimedia expansion the following year.
From the Julianspromos Archives
DJ Norie’s Anything Goes Live New York 2014 Highlights is preserved as part of the Julianspromos Archives, documenting years of original Reggae, Dancehall, Soca and Caribbean entertainment coverage.
Featuring performances from Spice, Tessanne Chin, Beenie Man, Gyptian, Bugle, Assassin and more, the footage offers another look back at the artists and events that shaped New York’s Caribbean music scene during Labor Day Weekend 2014.
