Fresh Fete NYC 2015: Preedy, Shal Marshall, GBM Nutron & Young Voice
Memorial Day Weekend was just getting started in New York when Fresh Fete Afterwork brought a wave of 2015 Soca into the city on Friday, May 22, 2015.
Presented by Jay Upscale, THC Promotions and WeMAD Entertainment, the event ran from 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM and was built around one simple idea: bring some of the season’s freshest Soca talent into a New York after-work setting before the holiday weekend really got going.
The flyer put Preedy front and center, with Nutron also featured, while the Julianspromos coverage captured a wider night that also included Shal Marshall and Young Voice.
Memorial Weekend Starts With Soca
By late May, Trinidad Carnival was already a few months behind everyone.
The music was not.
Fresh Fete gave New York audiences another chance to hear records that had been active throughout the 2015 Carnival season while artists continued carrying that momentum into the summer party circuit.
The timing also made sense.
Friday evening.
Memorial Weekend.
Soca artists in town.
And a room full of people ready to start the weekend early.
Preedy Steps Into the Spotlight
The Fresh Fete flyer made Preedy the main live attraction.
By 2015, Akeem “Preedy” Chance was continuing to build his name not only as a performer, but also as a songwriter and part of the wider WeMAD Entertainment creative circle.
His 2015 season included “Away,” one of the records that helped keep his name moving through the Soca circuit after Trinidad Carnival.
Fresh Fete therefore felt like a natural setting for him.
One of the presenting organizations was closely connected to his own creative team, and New York gave the music another audience outside Trinidad.
GBM Nutron Before the Big Breakout
The flyer also specifically promoted Nutron.
At the time, GBM Nutron was already well known within Soca production and songwriting circles, even though his public profile as a performing artist had not yet reached the level it would a year later.
That makes the 2015 footage especially interesting in hindsight.
This was before “Scene” became one of the records that pushed Nutron much further into the spotlight during the 2016 season.
Fresh Fete catches him in that earlier phase — already established behind the scenes, but still moving toward a much bigger profile as an artist.
Shal Marshall Brings “Motivation”
Shal Marshall also appeared during the night.
His 2015 Carnival season had included “Motivation,” a GBM-produced record that carried into the post-Carnival party circuit.
With Shal and Nutron both appearing at Fresh Fete, the night naturally connected performers with some of the producers and creative circles shaping Soca at the time.
The event was small enough to feel intimate, but the names in the room were connected to music that was traveling far beyond New York.
Young Voice Gives the Night a Brooklyn Connection
Young Voice brought another angle to the lineup.
Unlike the visiting Trinidad artists, Young Voice was developing his career directly from New York.
His 2015 song “Bass” had been part of that year’s Trinidad Carnival season, and his presence at Fresh Fete helped tie the event back to the city’s own Soca community.
He would later continue his career under the name One Voice, but in 2015, New York audiences still knew him as Young Voice.
The DJs Kept the Afterwork Moving
Fresh Fete was not built only around live performances.
The flyer also promoted music by:
Back2Basics
Platinum Sounds
Milo Miles
Lord Hype
John Boy
Eazell
That gave the event the feel of a true after-work fete rather than a straight concert.
People could come in early, catch live Soca artists, and stay moving through the evening as Memorial Weekend officially got underway.
Watch Fresh Fete NYC 2015
The original Julianspromos highlights take viewers inside Fresh Fete for performances and atmosphere from the night.
A Snapshot of Soca Between Carnival Seasons
Fresh Fete is a good example of how Soca moved through New York outside the city’s major Carnival weekends.
The artists had come out of Trinidad’s 2015 season.
The music was still fresh.
And New York gave those songs another life months after Carnival Monday and Tuesday had ended.
Events like this helped keep the Soca calendar active through spring and summer instead of treating Carnival music as something that disappeared once February was over.
Fresh Fete NYC 2015 Photo Gallery
The Julianspromos gallery captures more of the Memorial Weekend atmosphere, with Preedy, GBM Nutron, Shal Marshall and Young Voice appearing during the night while Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson hosted the coverage.
From the Julianspromos Archives
By May 2015, Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson had already spent several years hosting artist interviews and event coverage for Julianspromos.
Fresh Fete became another New York assignment in that growing archive.
Vivaa handled the on-camera hosting while Julian C. Hackett shot and edited the coverage, documenting artists who were all at slightly different points in their careers.
Preedy was continuing to grow as both artist and songwriter.
GBM Nutron was approaching a much larger breakout.
Shal Marshall was carrying another active Carnival record into New York.
And Young Voice was building his career from Brooklyn.
Looking back now, the footage captures all four before the next chapters of their careers unfolded.
On May 22, 2015, though, it was simply Memorial Weekend in New York.
Vivaa had the mic.
The Soca was fresh.
And Fresh Fete was underway.
Event Details
Event: Fresh Fete Afterwork
Date: Friday, May 22, 2015
Time: 5:00 PM–11:00 PM
Presented By: Jay Upscale, THC Promotions & WeMAD Entertainment
Flyer Headliner: Preedy
Also Featured on Flyer: Nutron
Artists Captured in Julianspromos Coverage: Preedy, GBM Nutron, Shal Marshall & Young Voice
Music By: Back2Basics, Platinum Sounds, Milo Miles, Lord Hype, John Boy & Eazell
Julianspromos Host: Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson
Camera: Julian C. Hackett
Editor: Julian C. Hackett
