Shine XS Celebrates 10 Years: Machel Montano, Beenie Man & Soca Stars in New York, 2014
Memorial Day in New York has long been one of the first major Caribbean party weekends of the summer, and on Monday, May 26, 2014, Shine XS returned as one of the weekend’s established Soca and Dancehall traditions. The 2014 edition was particularly significant because it marked 10 years of Shine, turning that year’s Memorial Monday celebration into a milestone edition.
Produced around the Back to Basics movement, Shine had developed into an annual Memorial Weekend destination well before 2014. That longevity would continue: the event celebrated its 15th anniversary in Brooklyn in 2019 and 20 years on Memorial Monday in 2024, confirming how enduring the tradition became within New York Caribbean entertainment.
Julianspromos documented the 2014 milestone with Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson leading the on-camera coverage. The surviving archive includes the main event highlights featuring Machel Montano and Beenie Man, along with separate interviews with Skinny Fabulous and Skinny Banton, giving the footage a broader view of the artists, music and energy surrounding Shine XS during its tenth year. Julianspromos’ own archive also identifies Shine NY 2014 among Vivaa’s media assignments.
Ten Years of Shine on Memorial Monday
By 2014, Shine was already an established part of New York’s Caribbean Memorial Weekend.
The previous year had been promoted as Shine 9, and the 2014 edition became Shine XS, celebrating a decade of the event. The format combined an outdoor daytime atmosphere with a lineup that crossed Soca, Dancehall and international Caribbean DJ culture.
The 2014 music lineup extended well beyond the featured artists.
Sounds and DJs documented during the event included Sounds for Life, DJ Stephen “The Red Dread” from Atlanta, Ezel & Jon Boi from Trinidad, D’Bandit from Toronto and New York’s DJ Big Reef, who was making his Shine debut.
That international DJ presence was part of what made Shine distinctive. New York remained the home base, but the event drew talent from across the Caribbean diaspora and different Carnival markets.
Machel Montano Makes a Surprise Appearance
One of the biggest moments captured by Julianspromos was Machel Montano taking the stage.
Machel had not appeared on the earliest advertised lineup for Shine XS, making his performance a last-minute surprise appearance during the tenth-year celebration.
The timing could hardly have been stronger.
Less than three months earlier, Machel had won the 2014 International Power Soca Monarch title with “Ministry of Road.” The same song then dominated Trinidad and Tobago Carnival to become the 2014 Road March, registering 374 plays at official judging points.
New York therefore received Machel at Shine while he was carrying the momentum of another major Trinidad Carnival season.
His surprise performance also became one of the central moments preserved in the Julianspromos highlights.
Beenie Man Brings Dancehall to Shine XS
Alongside the Soca-heavy elements of the day, Beenie Man supplied the major Dancehall presence.
His inclusion reflected Shine’s broader musical identity. The event was never restricted entirely to one Caribbean genre, and having one of Dancehall’s most established performers sharing the same celebration with Machel Montano and Skinny Fabulous gave the 2014 edition a clear Soca-and-Dancehall crossover.
The surviving Julianspromos main highlights specifically preserve both Machel Montano and Beenie Man, creating a visual record of two major Caribbean performers appearing during Shine’s tenth year.
Skinny Fabulous Arrives With Major Momentum
Skinny Fabulous was also part of the 2014 Shine XS lineup, and Julianspromos captured a separate interview with him conducted by Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson.
The interview came during an especially active period for the Vincentian Soca artist.
Less than two weeks before Shine, Skinny Fabulous dominated the inaugural St. Vincent and the Grenadines Association of Music Professionals Awards, winning three awards, including Best Soca Single, Record of the Year and Entertainer of the Year. His previous hit “The General” had already carried him to both the 2013 Vincy Soca Monarch and Road March titles.
His next Carnival campaign was already beginning as well.
“Light Up” had been released in late April for Vincy Mas 2014, and only four days before Shine, a remix featuring reigning Trinidad Groovy Soca Monarch Kerwin Du Bois was released.
That places the Julianspromos interview at an interesting point: Skinny Fabulous was coming off major recognition for his previous work while simultaneously introducing music for his next Carnival season.
Skinny Banton and “Soak It Good”
Julianspromos also captured Skinny Banton in conversation with Vivaa.
[Insert Skinny Banton Interview with Vivaa @ Shine NY video here]
The timing of this interview creates another strong connection between Julianspromos’ music promotion and its event coverage.
On April 2, 2014, several weeks before Shine XS, Julianspromos had uploaded and promoted Skinny Banton’s “Soak It Good” as a 2014 Grenada Soca release.
The record would become increasingly associated with Grenada’s 2014 Spicemas and Jab Jab season, eventually developing into one of Skinny Banton’s most recognizable songs of the period.
That means the Shine interview was not simply a random encounter with an artist.
Julianspromos had already been helping circulate his new music online, and then captured Skinny Banton in person during one of New York’s biggest Caribbean Memorial Weekend events.
Watch: Skinny Banton With Vivaa
Interviewer: Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson
Vivaa Leads the Julianspromos Coverage
The three surviving videos also preserve another chapter of Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson’s growing on-camera role with Julianspromos.
By 2014, Vivaa had already accumulated several years of Caribbean event and artist coverage. Shine NY formed part of an especially active period that also included Miami Carnival, New York Carnival, J’Ouvert events, artist interviews and other Soca coverage.
At Shine XS, the main highlights were presented around Vivaa’s event coverage, while the separate Skinny Fabulous and Skinny Banton videos allowed the artists to receive their own dedicated interview segments. Julianspromos’ surviving history specifically lists Shine NY 2014, including segments with Skinny Fabulous and Skinny Banton, among Vivaa’s assignments.
Unless later production records establish an exception, the surviving Julianspromos footage is credited as shot and edited by Julian C. Hackett.
Shine Keeps Growing Beyond 2014
The tenth-year edition was not the end of the story.
Five years later, Shine celebrated its 15th anniversary in Brooklyn on Memorial Day 2019, again with Machel Montano taking the stage alongside performers including Voice, Lil Natty & Thunda and Stylo G. The event remained associated with Back to Basics Entertainment.
By 2024, Shine was celebrating 20 years, with another Memorial Monday edition at the Brooklyn Navy Yard carrying Back2Basics and BlackStar branding.
Those later milestones put the Julianspromos footage from 2014 into perspective.
The cameras were there for Shine’s tenth year, halfway between the event’s beginnings and a 20th-year celebration that would arrive a decade later.
Looking Back
Shine XS 2014 captures New York’s Caribbean summer season at an important moment.
Machel Montano arrived as Trinidad and Tobago’s reigning Power Soca Monarch and Road March champion.
Beenie Man brought Dancehall into the celebration.
Skinny Fabulous was coming off three major music awards in St. Vincent while preparing for another Vincy Mas season.
Skinny Banton was introducing music that would become closely associated with Grenada’s upcoming Spicemas.
And Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson was there for Julianspromos, documenting the event and speaking directly with artists as their music moved between islands, Carnivals and the New York Caribbean diaspora.
Ten years into Shine’s history, Julianspromos preserved a Memorial Monday where established Caribbean stars, emerging Carnival records and international DJs all met in New York.
