Shine X New York 2014: Machel Montano, Beenie Man & 10 Years of Shine
Memorial Monday in New York reached a milestone on May 26, 2014, when Shine X celebrated 10 years with a massive daytime Caribbean party at The Village in Brooklyn.
Presented by Back to Basics Entertainment, the anniversary edition brought together Soca, Dancehall and DJs from across the Caribbean diaspora. Beenie Man, Skinny Fabulous and Skinny Banton were among the featured performers, while Machel Montano made an unadvertised appearance that became one of the biggest moments of the day. The official artwork promoted the edition as “10 Years in the Making.”
Julianspromos was there throughout the celebration, with Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson hosting the coverage and Julian C. Hackett shooting and editing the footage.
Shine X celebrated 10 years on Memorial Monday, May 26, 2014 in Brooklyn.
Ten Years of Shine
By 2014, Shine had already become a Memorial Weekend tradition for New York’s Caribbean community.
The tenth-anniversary edition took that history and turned it into a full daytime celebration, opening at 10:00 AM and running until 6:00 PM at The Village, located on Ralph Avenue between Foster Avenue and Avenue D in Brooklyn. General admission was advertised at $40, with platinum admission at $125.
The lineup reflected Shine’s broad Caribbean identity, bringing together Soca, Dancehall and an international group of DJs and sounds rather than limiting the event to one island or musical style.
Watch Shine X New York 2014
Machel Montano Makes a Surprise Appearance
One of the biggest moments at Shine XS was Machel Montano taking the stage.
Machel was not included among the artists on the official event flyer, making his appearance an added surprise for the Memorial Monday crowd.
His timing could hardly have been better.
Only months earlier, Machel had dominated Trinidad Carnival with “Ministry of Road,” winning both the International Power Soca Monarch title and Trinidad and Tobago Road March.
By Memorial Weekend, the record was still one of the defining Soca songs of 2014, giving his unexpected New York appearance even more impact. The Julianspromos highlights preserve that moment as one of the central memories of Shine’s tenth anniversary.
Beenie Man Brings Dancehall to Shine X
Beenie Man was one of the major advertised artists for the event, bringing Dancehall into a celebration that already had a heavy Soca presence.
His appearance helped define what made Shine different from a strictly Soca fete.
The audience could move from Soca into Dancehall without leaving the same party, reflecting the musical mix that has long shaped Caribbean nightlife in New York.
With Machel appearing alongside Beenie Man during the same Memorial Monday celebration, the Julianspromos footage now preserves two of the Caribbean’s most recognizable performers at Shine’s milestone tenth year.
Skinny Fabulous With Vivaa
St. Vincent and the Grenadines was represented by Skinny Fabulous, who was advertised as part of the Shine X lineup.
Julianspromos captured a separate conversation between Skinny Fabulous and Vivaa, giving viewers more than the performance highlights from the event.
The interview came during another active period in Skinny Fabulous’ career as he moved from the success of the previous Vincy Mas season into new music for 2014.
Skinny Banton and “Soak It Good”
Grenada’s Skinny Banton was also featured at Shine X, with the official event artwork specifically promoting “Soak It Good.”
Julianspromos had already been supporting the record online earlier that year, and Shine created an opportunity for Vivaa to connect with Skinny Banton in person.
The interview preserved Skinny Banton at an interesting point in the season, as “Soak It Good” continued building recognition ahead of Grenada’s 2014 Spicemas.
An International DJ Lineup
Shine XS was as much about the DJs and sounds as the featured artists.
The official flyer billed Private Ryan, DJ Dayne, D’Bandit, Anonymous, DJ Zach, Sterling Silver, DJ Big Reef, Tony Cross & Kevin Evil, Elegance Sounds, Natural Freaks, Dr. Wax, Sounds 4 Life and Back to Basics.
The lineup reached across New York, Trinidad, Toronto and other parts of the Caribbean diaspora, reinforcing Shine’s identity as a Memorial Weekend gathering where different Caribbean music communities met in one place.
Vivaa Leads the Julianspromos Coverage
For Julianspromos, Vivaa served as the on-camera host throughout Shine X.
Rather than limiting the coverage to stage performances, her presence allowed Julianspromos to move between the event itself and direct artist conversations, producing separate segments with Skinny Fabulous and Skinny Banton alongside the main event highlights.
Julian C. Hackett shot and edited all three videos, giving the archive multiple perspectives on the same Memorial Monday celebration.
By this period, that combination of event highlights, host-led coverage and individual artist interviews had become an increasingly recognizable part of the Julianspromos media format.
Shine Beyond Its Tenth Anniversary
Shine’s tenth year was not the end of the story.
The event continued through later Memorial Weekends, eventually reaching its 15th anniversary in 2019 and 20 years in 2024. The continued association with Back to Basics helped turn Shine into one of New York Caribbean entertainment’s long-running Memorial Day traditions.
That longevity gives the 2014 footage extra meaning today.
Julianspromos happened to be documenting Shine at the midpoint between its beginnings and a twentieth-anniversary celebration that would arrive a decade later.
From the Julianspromos Archives
Shine XS also captures an important stage in Julianspromos’ growth during 2014.
The platform was increasingly documenting Caribbean events from several angles rather than simply recording performances. At Shine, that meant preserving the main celebration while also producing dedicated artist conversations with Skinny Fabulous and Skinny Banton.
With Vivaa leading the on-camera coverage and Julian C. Hackett shooting and editing, the three videos together preserve a broader picture of the event — the artists, the music, the conversations and the Memorial Monday atmosphere.
The timing is significant too. Julianspromos was documenting Shine during its 10th anniversary, years before the event would reach its later 15- and 20-year milestones.
More than a decade later, the footage offers a look back at a day when Machel Montano, Beenie Man, Skinny Fabulous, Skinny Banton and an international DJ lineup all converged in Brooklyn, while Julianspromos was continuing to expand the depth of its Caribbean multimedia archive.
Event Details
Event: Shine X — 10 Years in the Making
Date: Monday, May 26, 2014
Occasion: Memorial Monday
Time: 10:00 AM–6:00 PM
Venue: The Village
Location: Ralph Avenue between Foster Avenue & Avenue D, Brooklyn, New York
Presented by: Back to Basics Entertainment
Featured Artists: Beenie Man, Skinny Fabulous, Skinny Banton, with a surprise appearance by Machel Montano
Julianspromos Host: Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson
Video: Shot and edited by Julian C. Hackett
Video Upload Date: May 30, 2014
