2015 DJ Norie Anything Goes Live: Konshens, Kranium, Machel Montano & More at Amazura
On Saturday, September 5, 2015, DJ Norie and Power 105.1 brought Anything Goes Live to Club Amazura in Jamaica, Queens, packing Labor Day Weekend with Reggae, Dancehall and Soca.
The concert brought together artists from across the Caribbean, with Konshens, Junior Reid, Bunji Garlin, Gyptian, Kevin Lyttle, Kerwin Du Bois, Kranium, Assassin, Christopher Martin, Ding Dong, Chi Ching Ching, Ricky Blaze, Bugle, Tifa, Tilibop, Noah, Angela Hunte, Sexi Marissa, Brukup and Jay Mula featured on the event lineup.
Inside Amazura, the night delivered exactly what the name promised: Caribbean music with room to move between genres. The Julianspromos highlights capture performances and appearances including Konshens, Kranium, Bunji Garlin, Machel Montano and more.
A Packed Labor Day Weekend Lineup
Anything Goes Live brought several generations and styles of Caribbean music onto one stage.
Konshens, Kranium, Christopher Martin, Assassin, Bugle, Tifa, Ding Dong and Chi Ching Ching gave the concert a strong Dancehall presence, while artists including Junior Reid and Gyptian brought established Reggae voices into the mix.
Soca was also well represented through Bunji Garlin, Kerwin Du Bois and Kevin Lyttle, creating a lineup that reflected the wider Caribbean audience gathering in New York for Labor Day Weekend.
Official Anything Goes Live 2015 flyer featuring the September 5 Labor Day Weekend lineup at Club Amazura in Jamaica, Queens.
Konshens Takes the Amazura Stage
By 2015, Konshens had established himself as one of Dancehall’s internationally recognized performers, with a catalog that had already taken him far beyond Jamaica.
At Anything Goes Live, he was part of a lineup filled with artists who could keep the room moving from one performance to the next.
His appearance fit naturally into a concert where Dancehall was one of the dominant sounds of the night.
Kranium Returns to Queens
For Kranium, the concert came during an important period in his rise.
The Jamaican-born, New York-based artist had broken internationally with “Nobody Has to Know,” giving him one of the most recognizable Caribbean records of the period.
Performing at Amazura placed him back in Queens in front of the New York Caribbean audience that had played such an important role in his early career.
Bunji Garlin Brings Soca Into the Mix
Bunji Garlin gave the lineup a powerful Trinidad and Tobago presence.
His appearance helped push the night beyond a strictly Reggae and Dancehall concert, connecting Anything Goes Live directly to the Soca audience that was already out in force across New York for Carnival weekend.
With Kerwin Du Bois and Kevin Lyttle also on the bill, Soca had a clear place alongside the Jamaican-heavy lineup.
Machel Montano Joins the Labor Day Weekend Energy
The Julianspromos highlights also capture Machel Montano inside Amazura.
Machel entered New York Labor Day Weekend after another major Trinidad Carnival season, with “Like Ah Boss” among the biggest Soca records of 2015.
His appearance added another of Trinidad and Tobago’s biggest names to a night already filled with Caribbean stars.
With Machel and Bunji appearing in the same coverage as Konshens and Kranium, the video reflects one of the defining features of New York’s Labor Day Weekend: artists from different islands and genres converging in the city at the same time.
Anything Goes Live at Club Amazura
Anything Goes Live had grown into a recurring New York Caribbean concert series by 2015, bringing artists from Reggae, Dancehall and Soca onto the same stage.
Club Amazura, located at 91-12 144th Place in Jamaica, Queens, provided a large indoor setting for the Labor Day Weekend edition.
For one night, the venue became a meeting point for fans who might normally attend separate Dancehall, Reggae or Soca events.
Here, all three sounds shared the same room.
Returning to Amazura
The 2015 concert continued a Labor Day Weekend run for Anything Goes Live at Amazura.
Julianspromos had also documented the 2014 Anything Goes Live edition at the Queens venue, which featured artists including Spice, Beenie Man, Tessanne Chin, Gyptian, Bugle and Assassin.
See the earlier coverage: DJ Norie Anything Goes Live New York 2014: Spice, Beenie Man, Tessanne Chin & Caribbean Stars in Queens
A year later, DJ Norie returned with another deep Caribbean lineup for Labor Day Weekend 2015.
From the Julianspromos Archives
Julianspromos documented Anything Goes Live at Club Amazura on September 5, 2015, capturing performances and appearances from artists including Konshens, Kranium, Bunji Garlin and Machel Montano.
Marsha Monelle hosted the Julianspromos coverage, while Calvin Tucker filmed the event and Julian C. Hackett edited the footage.
The original 2015 DJ Norie Anything Goes Live Labor Day Highlights video was uploaded to the Julianspromos YouTube channel on September 21, 2015.
The video and photographs capture another side of New York’s Labor Day Weekend — an indoor Caribbean concert where Reggae, Dancehall and Soca shared the same stage in Queens.
