Kes The Band Kicks Off an “Endless Summer” at FRESH in Brooklyn 2014
Memorial Weekend in New York was already packed with Caribbean events in 2014, but on Saturday, May 24, FRESH brought a live Soca experience to Canal Plaza in Brooklyn with Kes The Band and GBM Nutron at the center of the night.
Presented by Big and Strong, GBM Promotions, Parys Entertainment and Stevie Genius, the event blended live Soca, Caribbean DJs and the start of New York’s summer party season. Julianspromos documented the night through a full Kes performance and separate artist interviews hosted by Boston-based media personality Marsha Monelle, with Julian C. Hackett shooting and editing the coverage.
FRESH at Canal Plaza in Brooklyn on Memorial Saturday, May 24, 2014, featuring Kes The Band.
Watch Kes The Band Live at FRESH
The Julianspromos footage was uploaded on June 3, 2014.
FRESH Takes Over Canal Plaza
FRESH landed right in the middle of one of New York’s busiest Caribbean holiday weekends.
Music from D’Enforcas of Toronto, Artiste Team from Trinidad and Road International from New York kept the crowd moving before the live performances began. GBM Nutron also took the stage, adding another Soca performance before Kes The Band closed out the live portion of the night.
The mix of DJs, live performers and a Brooklyn crowd ready for summer gave FRESH the kind of energy Memorial Weekend was becoming known for.
GBM Nutron Gets the Crowd Moving
Before Kes took over, GBM Nutron had his own moment with the audience.
At the time, Nutron was still in an earlier chapter of the career that would later make the GBM name increasingly familiar across Soca.
Julianspromos captured more than his stage appearance. Marsha Monelle also sat down with Nutron for a separate interview, preserving another look at the artist during this stage of his development.
Kes The Band Takes the Stage
When Kes The Band arrived, the night shifted into full concert mode.
The band moved through songs from different stages of its catalogue, including “Thunder” and “One Day,” while also weaving music from artists including Machel Montano, Blaxx and Buju Banton into the set.
But one song was especially timely.
“Endless Summer” had only just arrived.
The Beginning of an “Endless Summer”
Kes’ appearance at FRESH came almost exactly as “Endless Summer” was beginning its run.
The song appeared on Ricky Blaze’s Uptown Julie Riddim, alongside music from artists including Gyptian and Zoelah. The Fader was already highlighting the project on May 23, 2014 — one day before FRESH — making Kes’ Brooklyn performance an unusually early live moment for the record.
That timing gives the FRESH footage extra value today.
The crowd was not hearing a Soca hit years after the fact. They were seeing Kes perform “Endless Summer” at the very beginning of its 2014 summer run.
Kes and Ricky Blaze With Marsha Monelle
Julianspromos also captured the connection between Kes and the Brooklyn producer behind the record.
Marsha Monelle interviewed Kes and Ricky Blaze together at FRESH, bringing the Trinidad artist and Brooklyn producer into the same conversation while the Uptown Julie Riddim was still fresh.
The pairing reflected something bigger than one song.
Ricky Blaze had built a reputation for moving comfortably across Dancehall, Reggae, Soca, Pop and electronic influences, while Kes had long been known for stretching Soca beyond rigid genre boundaries.
“Endless Summer” brought those worlds together naturally.
Marsha Monelle Returns for Julianspromos
FRESH also marked Marsha Monelle’s second appearance with Julianspromos.
Based in Boston, Marsha returned to the platform for this Brooklyn assignment and handled the interviews with Kes, Ricky Blaze and GBM Nutron.
Her presence added another voice to Julianspromos’ growing correspondent lineup during 2014, while also extending the platform’s connections beyond New York itself.
With Marsha handling the interviews and Julian C. Hackett filming and editing, the FRESH coverage preserved both sides of the night: the live stage experience and the conversations happening around it.
Photos from FRESH at Canal Plaza in Brooklyn on May 24, 2014.
Memorial Weekend Was Just Getting Started
FRESH was only one stop in a packed Caribbean Memorial Weekend.
Across Brooklyn, audiences were moving between Soca concerts, DJ parties and major annual events. Two days later, Shine XS celebrated its tenth anniversary, with Machel Montano, Beenie Man, Skinny Fabulous and other Caribbean performers taking the stage.
That larger weekend context makes FRESH feel even more representative of the period.
New York’s Caribbean summer was beginning, and artists, promoters, DJs and audiences were already moving from event to event.
From the Julianspromos Archives
FRESH stands out in the Julianspromos archive because three separate pieces of coverage survive from the same night.
There is Kes The Band performing live.
There is Kes with Ricky Blaze as “Endless Summer” was entering circulation.
And there is GBM Nutron at an earlier stage of his career.
The night also marked Marsha Monelle’s second appearance with Julianspromos, extending the platform’s correspondent network beyond New York while Julian C. Hackett continued handling the shooting and editing behind the scenes.
By 2014, Julianspromos was increasingly documenting events from multiple angles rather than simply capturing one performance. FRESH preserved the concert, the interviews, the personalities and the wider Memorial Weekend atmosphere in one archive package.
More than a decade later, the footage captures a particularly good moment in time: Brooklyn at the start of summer, Kes launching a brand-new record, and Julianspromos continuing to expand the depth of its Caribbean media coverage.
Event Details
Event: FRESH
Date: Saturday, May 24, 2014
Occasion: Memorial Saturday
Venue: Canal Plaza
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Presented by: Big and Strong, GBM Promotions, Parys Entertainment & Stevie Genius
Featured Artists: Kes The Band, GBM Nutron
Music: D’Enforcas, Artiste Team, Road International
Julianspromos Host/Interviewer: Marsha Monelle
Marsha Monelle: Second appearance with Julianspromos
Video: Shot and edited by Julian C. Hackett
Video Upload Date: June 3, 2014
Media: Kes live performance + Kes/Ricky Blaze interview + GBM Nutron interview + photo gallery
