Alison Hinds Live at SOB’s NYC 2012: Julianspromos Interview & Performance

In February 2012, Julianspromos returned to SOB’s in New York City to document Alison Hinds, capturing the Queen of Soca in a more extensive combination of live performance footage and artist conversation.

Unlike the surviving 2010 Queens of Soca footage, this coverage came after Julianspromos had begun developing its formal interview and event-media work, with Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson interviewing Alison as part of the feature.

Three surviving JulianspromosTV videos preserve Alison’s performance that night, including dedicated live footage and an interview that gives viewers a closer look at the artist away from the stage.

Alison Hinds Returns to SOB’s

By 2012, Alison Hinds already had a long relationship with New York audiences and with SOB’s itself.

The Manhattan venue had spent decades presenting international music and remains closely associated with Caribbean, Reggae and Dancehall performances as part of its history. SOB’s currently lists Alison among its notable alumni.

The intimate venue offered a different experience from the outdoor festivals and arena events Julianspromos was increasingly documenting during the same period.

At SOB’s, the audience was close to the stage and Alison could interact directly with patrons throughout the performance.

Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson Interviews Alison Hinds

The 2012 footage includes an interview conducted by Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson.

By this point, Vivaa’s role within Julianspromos had expanded considerably from her first Young Devyn interview the previous year.

She was now interviewing established Caribbean artists across concerts, parties and Carnival-related events while helping Julianspromos build a growing catalogue of original entertainment media.

Sitting down with Alison Hinds added one of Soca’s most established female performers to that developing interview history.

The original video was published by JulianspromosTV on February 26, 2012 under the title “Alison Hinds Interview w. VIVAA & Performance @ SOB’s New York 2012.”

The Queen of Soca

Alison Hinds’ position in Caribbean music had been established long before the 2012 SOB’s appearance.

After beginning her professional career with Square One, she helped take Barbadian Soca throughout the Caribbean and international markets before transitioning into a solo career.

Her catalogue included “Faluma,” “Ragamuffin,” “Togetherness,” “Roll It Gal” and numerous other songs that became central to her live shows.

“Roll It Gal” in particular became an international Soca anthem and strengthened Alison’s association with female empowerment and independence.

From Square One to a Solo Career

Alison’s career also documents an important period in the international development of Barbadian Soca.

With Square One, she helped establish a band whose recordings and performances traveled well beyond Barbados.

After stepping away from the band and later returning as a solo performer, Alison maintained many of the songs audiences associated with Square One while developing a separate identity under her own name.

By 2012, the result was a live catalogue stretching across multiple eras.

That history gave her SOB’s performance a different character from that of an artist promoting only one current release.

Extended Live Performance

The surviving Julianspromos archive contains more than the interview.

Together, the footage allows the new archive page to present Alison both as an interview subject and as the live performer responsible for the reputation that earned her the Queen of Soca title.

That combination makes the 2012 footage stronger when preserved as a single master article rather than divided into three separate pages.

Women at the Center of Soca

Alison’s career also forms part of the larger story of women expanding their position within Soca.

Female artists had always contributed to Calypso and Carnival music, but performers such as Alison Hinds, Destra Garcia, Denise Belfon and later generations of women increasingly occupied major stages as headline attractions rather than supporting performers.

Alison’s success with Square One and later as a solo artist helped demonstrate the international audience available for a female Soca performer leading her own show.

The 2012 SOB’s footage preserves that reality in one of New York’s long-running Caribbean music venues.

Two Years After Queens of Soca

The 2012 footage also creates a natural historical connection to JulianspromosTV’s earlier Queens of Soca recordings from the same venue.

In 2010, JulianspromosTV had preserved Alison Hinds and Destra Garcia sharing the SOB’s stage.

Two years later, the archive returned to Alison at the same venue, but Julianspromos itself had changed.

By 2012, the platform was no longer simply preserving performance footage.

It was conducting artist interviews, traveling to events as media and building a more deliberate multimedia archive.

That contrast makes the two SOB’s articles valuable when viewed together.

Julianspromos’ Growing Interview Archive

The Alison Hinds conversation came during a particularly active period for Julianspromos.

Following the first Young Devyn interview and the first formal media event at Six Flags in 2011, Julianspromos continued expanding into artist interviews, concert coverage and travel throughout different Caribbean entertainment markets.

Vivaa became an increasingly recognizable part of that development.

Interviewing an established artist such as Alison Hinds demonstrated how quickly the platform’s access was growing.

What had begun with emerging talent was expanding toward some of the most established names in Caribbean music.

From the Julianspromos Archives

Alison Hinds Live at SOB’s NYC 2012: Julianspromos Interview & Performance brings three surviving pieces of footage together into one historical feature.

The videos preserve Alison Hinds performing live at SOB’s and speaking with Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson, capturing both the stage presence and personality of one of Soca’s most influential female performers.

The footage also demonstrates how much Julianspromos had developed since recording Alison and Destra at the same venue in 2010.

By 2012, original artist interviews had become part of the platform’s identity.

Together, the two SOB’s chapters document not only Alison Hinds’ continued presence in New York Soca, but the evolution of Julianspromos from preserving performances into actively interviewing and documenting the people behind Caribbean entertainment.