Six Flags Caribbean Concert 2014: Reggae, Soca & Dancehall Take Over Great Adventure
Roller coasters by day. Caribbean music by evening.
On Sunday, August 10, 2014, Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey turned into a Caribbean music playground as Reggae, Soca and Dancehall artists took over the park for the Six Flags Caribbean Concert.
The advertised lineup was stacked: Elephant Man, Tifa, Kranium, Morgan Heritage, Barrington Levy, Maxi Priest, Lyrikal, 5 Star Akil, Zoelah, Edwin Yearwood, Banky Hype, Massive B, Devyn and Red Man, with the flyer even teasing a surprise artist.
For Julianspromos, Julian C. Hackett shot and edited the event coverage, capturing another summer of Caribbean music at a location that already had a special connection to the platform’s early history.
Six Flags Caribbean Concert at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, on Sunday, August 10, 2014.
Rides All Day, Caribbean Music at Night
This wasn’t your typical concert setup.
Fans could spend the day taking on the roller coasters and attractions at Six Flags Great Adventure, then switch gears when the Caribbean performances started.
The flyer summed it up perfectly: “Free rides all day” alongside a family-friendly Caribbean concert experience.
That mix made Six Flags different from a regular fete or nightclub show.
You could scream your head off on a coaster in the afternoon and then do it all over again when your favorite artist hit the stage.
Reggae Legends Meet a New Generation
The 2014 lineup brought together artists from very different eras of Caribbean music.
Maxi Priest, Barrington Levy and Morgan Heritage represented generations of Reggae music that had already traveled around the world.
At the same time, Kranium was still building the momentum that would soon make him one of Dancehall’s most recognizable international voices.
Putting those artists on the same stage gave the audience a night that could move from familiar classics to the sounds shaping the next generation.
Maxi Priest Brings the Classics
Maxi Priest brought decades of Reggae history to the Six Flags stage.
By 2014, songs such as “Close to You” and his version of “Wild World” had long become familiar favorites, while new music kept him connected to contemporary Reggae audiences.
His appearance gave the concert one of those moments where parents and younger fans could recognize the same artist for completely different reasons.
Barrington Levy Gets the Crowd Singing
Then came Barrington Levy.
With one of the most distinctive voices in Reggae and Dancehall, Levy had a catalog filled with songs that Caribbean audiences knew almost instantly.
A Six Flags crowd singing along to Barrington Levy after spending the day on rides? That’s a pretty good Sunday.
Morgan Heritage Brings Roots Reggae
Morgan Heritage added another flavor to the show.
The group’s roots-oriented Reggae sound offered a change of pace from the faster Soca and Dancehall performances surrounding them.
Their appearance helped make the concert feel less like one genre dominating the night and more like several corners of Caribbean music meeting on one stage.
Elephant Man Brings the Energy
If there was anyone built for a stage at an amusement park, it might be Elephant Man.
The Dancehall star had already earned the nickname “Energy God,” and his performances were known for movement, dancing and nonstop crowd interaction.
After hours of Caribbean music, Elephant Man still had the kind of energy capable of making the crowd find one more gear.
Kranium Was on the Rise
Kranium appeared at Six Flags during an important stage in his career.
His name was gaining momentum as “Nobody Has to Know” helped introduce him to audiences far beyond the New York Dancehall scene.
Looking back, the 2014 lineup is fun partly because it puts an emerging Kranium beside artists who had already spent decades building international careers.
Tifa Adds Dancehall Flavor
Tifa gave the lineup another strong Jamaican presence.
Her appearance added to a Dancehall side of the concert that already included Elephant Man and Kranium, giving fans several different styles from the genre throughout the day.
Lyrikal Brings Soca to Six Flags
The Caribbean Concert wasn’t leaving Soca out.
Lyrikal brought Trinidad and Tobago energy to the stage, helping turn the Six Flags arena into something that felt a little closer to a Carnival fete.
His growing catalog and lively performance style made him a natural fit for an audience ready to jump, wave and participate rather than simply watch.
5 Star Akil Keeps the Soca Moving
5 Star Akil added another dose of Trinidad Carnival energy.
By 2014, songs such as “To Meh Heart” had helped establish him as one of the newer Soca voices making noise in the genre.
Together with Lyrikal and the other Soca artists on the bill, his appearance made sure the Caribbean Concert had plenty of waistline movement between the Reggae and Dancehall sets.
Zoelah Represents St. Vincent
Zoelah brought a Vincentian presence to the Six Flags stage.
Her performance added another island to a lineup that was already stretching across Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and the wider Caribbean.
That variety was one of the strengths of the event: there wasn’t just one sound or one island represented.
Edwin Yearwood Brings Barbados to New Jersey
Edwin Yearwood brought Barbados into the mix.
Best known as the longtime voice of Krosfyah, Edwin had already become one of the most recognizable singers associated with Barbadian Soca.
The Julianspromos photos capture him onstage during the concert, adding another major Soca voice to the afternoon.
Even More Caribbean Flavor
The flyer also advertised Banky Hype, Massive B, Devyn and Red Man, along with a surprise artist.
That helped make the event feel bigger than a standard concert bill.
There were established international stars, rising artists, DJs and performers representing several parts of Caribbean music culture all sharing the same Six Flags stage.
Watch Six Flags Caribbean Concert 2014
The Julianspromos highlights capture performances and atmosphere from the Caribbean Concert at Six Flags Great Adventure.
Event Date: August 10, 2014
Video Upload Date: August 22, 2014
Shot & Edited By: Julian C. Hackett
Six Flags Caribbean Concert 2014 Photo Gallery
The photos bring viewers closer to the performers and stage, including Edwin Yearwood, Zoelah, Morgan Heritage and more moments from the day.
Artists take the stage during the Six Flags Caribbean Concert at Great Adventure on August 10, 2014.
One Stage, Plenty of Caribbean Flavor
The fun of the Six Flags Caribbean Concert was how easily the music could change direction.
One performance could lean into classic Reggae.
The next could bring Dancehall.
Then Soca would take over and suddenly the amusement park crowd was moving like Carnival had reached New Jersey.
Maxi Priest, Barrington Levy and Morgan Heritage brought established Reggae history.
Elephant Man, Tifa and Kranium carried different sides of Dancehall.
Lyrikal, 5 Star Akil, Zoelah and Edwin Yearwood helped keep Soca in the middle of the action.
That combination gave Caribbean families and music fans a little bit of everything.
From the Julianspromos Archives
Six Flags holds an important place in the Julianspromos story.
Back in 2011, the TEMPO Turns 6 / Six Flags Caribbean event became Julianspromos’ first official media assignment.
Julian Hackett and Sheniele “Vivaa” Dodson made the trip to New Jersey during the platform’s early grassroots years, helping establish the style of on-location Caribbean coverage that would grow in the years that followed.
By the summer of 2014, the journey had expanded considerably.
Julianspromos had covered events throughout New York, Miami and other U.S. cities, traveled to Hollywood, and only days before this Six Flags concert had completed its first-ever Toronto and Canadian Carnival coverage.
Then it was back to New Jersey.
Returning to Six Flags connected the growing Julianspromos journey with one of the places where its official media work had begun.
This time, Julian C. Hackett was behind the camera shooting and editing the coverage, documenting a lineup that stretched from Caribbean music legends to artists whose biggest years were still ahead of them.
For longtime followers, it’s a fun piece of the timeline: Six Flags was there near the beginning, and three years later Julianspromos was still returning to capture another generation of Caribbean music.
Event Details
Event: Six Flags Caribbean Concert 2014
Date: Sunday, August 10, 2014
Venue: Six Flags Great Adventure
Address: 1 Six Flags Boulevard, Jackson, New Jersey 08527
Advertised Artists: Elephant Man, Tifa, Kranium, Banky Hype, Morgan Heritage, Barrington Levy, Maxi Priest, Massive B, Zoelah, 5 Star Akil, Lyrikal, Devyn, Edwin Yearwood, Red Man, plus a Surprise Artist
Admission Advertised: $59.99 General Admission / $99.99 VIP
Shot & Edited By: Julian C. Hackett
Video Upload Date: August 22, 2014
