2014 Six Flags Caribbean Concert Highlights |Reggae and Soca Take Over
Roller coasters by day, Reggae and Soca by evening.
On Sunday, August 10, 2014, Caribbean music returned to Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey for the 9th Annual Caribbean Summer Concert, bringing together established Reggae stars and a wave of Soca and Dancehall artists on one stage.
Julianspromos captured highlights from the event featuring Lyrikal, 5Star Akil, Zoelah, Morgan Heritage and more, preserving a night whose wider lineup stretched from emerging acts such as Kranium and Jemere Morgan to veterans including Maxi Priest, Barrington Levy and Elephant Man.
The concert was produced by TriniFly Promotions in partnership with Six Flags and took place at the park's Plymouth Rock Assurance Arena, with the stage show scheduled to begin at 6 PM.
Nine Years of Caribbean Music at Six Flags
By 2014, the Caribbean Summer Concert was no longer a new experiment.
This was its ninth annual edition, and the event had developed into a summer tradition for Caribbean audiences throughout the New York, New Jersey and wider tri-state area. Contemporary coverage described the concept as a family day combining the Six Flags theme park experience with an evening concert featuring major Caribbean performers.
The formula was simple but effective.
Spend the day riding roller coasters and exploring the park.
Then switch gears for a full Caribbean concert.
Previous editions had already featured artists including Beres Hammond, Wayne Wonder, Anthony B, Mavado, I-Octane, Bunji Garlin, Beenie Man and Mr. Vegas.
For 2014, the lineup once again mixed Reggae, Dancehall and Soca.
Lyrikal Brings Soca to the Stage
Among the Trinidad and Tobago artists appearing that evening was Lyrikal.
Contemporary coverage praised his performance and specifically records him performing “Conquer Meh” and “25/8.” He also brought three women from the audience into an on-stage dance competition during “Part of Your Nature.”
It was exactly the kind of interactive Soca performance that could turn a large theme-park arena into something closer to a fete.
And Lyrikal wasn't carrying the Soca side alone.
5Star Akil Turns Up the Energy
5Star Akil also represented Trinidad and Tobago on the 2014 stage.
The contemporary concert review singled him out for his high-energy set and specifically mentioned “To Meh Heart,” one of the records helping build his profile during that period.
His presence alongside Lyrikal and Zoelah gave the concert an important Soca component within a lineup otherwise heavily anchored by Reggae and Dancehall.
Zoelah's appearance at the August 10 Six Flags Caribbean Concert is independently preserved in historical tour listings.
That mix was one of the strengths of the Six Flags series.
The audience didn't have to choose between a Reggae concert and a Soca concert.
For one evening, they got both.
Kranium Was Still an Artist to Watch
Another performer on the 2014 bill looks particularly interesting in hindsight.
Kranium was still early in his international rise.
Contemporary coverage described him as an emerging Dancehall-Reggae artist and highlighted “Nobody Has to Know,” the song that was rapidly expanding his audience at the time. His Six Flags set was reportedly short, but memorable enough for the reviewers to flag him as an artist people should remember.
Years later, Kranium would become an internationally recognized Dancehall name.
The 2014 Six Flags concert caught him before that story had fully played out.
Three Generations of the Morgan Family
The Morgan family was represented in two different generations that evening.
Jemere Morgan, the son of Gramps Morgan and grandson of reggae singer Denroy Morgan, performed before Morgan Heritage. Contemporary reporting noted that Jemere was just 19 at the time and praised his combination of Reggae and Soul.
Then came Morgan Heritage.
The group's set leaned heavily into its conscious Reggae identity, with songs including “You Don't Have to Dread to Be Rasta” and “Down by the River.” The crowd also responded strongly to the newer “Put It On Me.”
Historical concert records independently confirm Morgan Heritage at Six Flags Great Adventure on August 10, 2014.
For a Caribbean audience, hearing the band's harmonies in an arena setting gave the evening a completely different texture from the high-energy Soca performances earlier in the show.
Maxi Priest Makes His Six Flags Debut
One of the night's veteran performers was Maxi Priest, appearing at the Six Flags event for the first time.
He arrived with a catalog stretching back decades but also had new music to promote. His album Easy to Love had been released only a couple months earlier in June 2014.
The Six Flags set mixed both eras.
Contemporary reporting says Maxi opened with “Wild World” and performed material from the new album alongside familiar hits including “Close to You.”
Historical tour records also place Maxi Priest at Six Flags on August 10.
Barrington Levy Returns
Then came Barrington Levy.
Unlike Maxi Priest, Levy already had history with the event, having previously appeared at Six Flags in 2012.
For 2014, songs from his extensive catalog brought another generation of Reggae into the show, with “Too Experienced” singled out as a particularly strong crowd singalong.
That gave the concert a remarkably wide generational spread.
Emerging artists like Kranium.
Current Soca performers like Lyrikal and 5Star Akil.
Morgan Heritage.
Maxi Priest.
Barrington Levy.
All before the final performer had even taken the stage.
Elephant Man Closes the Show
That job went to Elephant Man.
The Dancehall star lived up to his “Energy God” nickname, closing the 2014 concert with the kind of animated performance that had long made him a festival favorite.
Contemporary coverage specifically recalls performances of songs including “All Out” and “Let's Get Physical,” along with the on-stage antics and audience interaction that had become trademarks of an Elephant Man show.
The official Six Flags promotion had listed him among the featured Caribbean artists alongside Maxi Priest, Barrington Levy and Morgan Heritage.
After a day of amusement-park rides and hours of Caribbean music, Elephant Man was the one charged with sending everyone home.
He did it at full energy.
More Than a Reggae Concert
What made the 2014 Six Flags event interesting was how easily the lineup moved between genres.
Morgan Heritage, Maxi Priest and Barrington Levy represented different eras of Reggae.
Elephant Man and Kranium brought Dancehall.
Lyrikal, 5Star Akil and Zoelah carried Soca.
Jemere Morgan represented another generation of the Morgan musical family.
And contemporary coverage also documents Ramajay as part of the day's performers.
It was less a single-genre concert than a snapshot of Caribbean popular music in 2014.
Another Chapter in the Six Flags Caribbean Concert Story
The annual series had already become familiar territory for Caribbean audiences by this point.
Julianspromos had documented Six Flags Caribbean entertainment in earlier years as well, including Caribbean and Soca concert coverage from 2011, 2012 and 2013.
The 2014 edition continued that story with a particularly broad lineup.
From Lyrikal and 5Star Akil getting the Soca crowd moving to Morgan Heritage bringing roots Reggae and Elephant Man closing with Dancehall energy, the concert showed why the Six Flags Caribbean series had survived long enough to reach a ninth year.
The next summer would bring its 10th anniversary.
But in 2014, Six Flags Great Adventure belonged to Caribbean music for another night.
