TIMELESS NYC 2013: KES The Band & Maxi Priest at Stage 48

On Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013, two generations of Caribbean music met in Manhattan when Maxi Priest and KES The Band headlined TIMELESS at Stage 48.

Presented by Big & Strong and Tryst Experience, the concert was built around a simple idea: pair an artist whose Reggae and Lovers Rock catalog had already crossed generations with a band representing the evolving sound of contemporary Soca. Promoters described TIMELESS as a musical experience intended to cross both genres and eras.

Despite rainy New York weather, Stage 48 filled to capacity as Reggae, Dancehall and Soca shared the same stage on Easter Sunday.

Watch TIMELESS NYC 2013

The Julianspromos highlights bring viewers inside the concert, capturing moments from both headline performances and the mix of Caribbean sounds that defined the night.

The footage was shot and edited by Julian C. Hackett and uploaded to the Julianspromos YouTube channel on April 2, 2013.

Maxi Priest: A Caribbean Crossover Veteran in 2013

By 2013, Maxi Priest had already spent decades showing how far Caribbean music could travel.

His catalog included international hits such as “Wild World,” “House Call” and “Close to You,” songs that moved between Reggae, Lovers Rock, Dancehall, R&B and Pop while introducing his voice to audiences far beyond the traditional Reggae market.

TIMELESS leaned directly into that history.

Maxi opened the live concert shortly after 9:30 PM, backed by a full band. His set moved through songs including “Wild World” and “House Call” before reaching the international crossover hit “Close to You.” Contemporary coverage described the audience singing along to material that had already been part of his catalog for more than two decades.

That longevity made Maxi the perfect fit for a concert called TIMELESS. He wasn't there because of one current Carnival season or a new breakthrough. His side of the evening demonstrated how Caribbean records could continue connecting with audiences years after their original release.

Red Fox, Beniton and Nutron Bridge the Sounds

The artists surrounding the two headliners made the musical connection even broader.

Red Fox joined Maxi Priest during his set before moving into “Bashment Party,” while Beniton The Menace also appeared alongside Maxi. Their appearances brought a strong New York Dancehall connection into a show already moving between Reggae and Pop crossover.

During the changeover between the headline bands, Nutron — later widely known as GBM Nutron — performed for the crowd. Contemporary coverage described him at the time as a producer-turned-artist, which places the performance at an interesting point in his career.

In 2013, Nutron was already becoming increasingly visible through the production and songwriting world around GBM, while the front-line Soca artist career many fans would later associate with him was still developing.

In one stretch of the night, TIMELESS therefore moved through veteran Reggae, New York Dancehall and the contemporary Soca production scene before KES even took the stage.

KES Represent the New Generation

When Kees Dieffenthaller and KES The Band took over Stage 48, the concert moved into a different period of Caribbean music.

KES were no longer newcomers by March 2013. “Wotless” had become a defining record following the band's 2011 Carnival run, while “Where Yuh From” helped expand their profile outside Trinidad and Tobago.

But the band was also looking forward.

Promotion for TIMELESS specifically pointed to newer music such as “Tuesday on the Rocks” and presented KES as part of an emerging Caribbean or “island pop” sound that could move beyond traditional genre boundaries.

Their Stage 48 set showed that range.

KES performed established favorites including “Wotless,” “Where Yuh From” and “Ah Ting,” alongside newer songs such as “Rum and Soca” and “Tuesday on the Rocks.” The band also incorporated Reggae influences and classic Soca and Calypso material during a set lasting well over an hour.

Contemporary reporting described the dance floor filling quickly once KES appeared, with hands and Caribbean flags going into the air.

That reaction showed where KES stood in 2013: already established enough to co-headline a major Manhattan Caribbean concert with Maxi Priest, but with much of the band's later international story still ahead.

“Tuesday on the Rocks” Points Toward a Wider KES Sound

“Tuesday on the Rocks” is particularly useful for understanding what KES represented at TIMELESS.

The song leaned heavily into Reggae while maintaining the band's broader Caribbean identity. Alongside Soca records such as “Wotless,” it showed that KES weren't interested in allowing one genre to completely define the band.

That made the pairing with Maxi Priest more natural than it might first appear.

Maxi had spent years moving Reggae and Lovers Rock into R&B and Pop spaces.

KES were approaching Caribbean crossover from another direction, blending Soca with Reggae, Rock, Pop and other influences.

Different generations. Different starting points. Similar willingness to move beyond musical boundaries.

A Packed Easter Sunday at Stage 48

The audience embraced the combination.

Contemporary reporting described Stage 48 as filled to capacity, even as patrons dealt with rainy New York weather. DJs Callie B and Kevin Crown kept the crowd moving before and between the live performances with Soca, Reggae, Dancehall, Hip-Hop and Pop.

Maxi Priest brought decades of familiar songs.

Red Fox and Beniton added Dancehall.

Nutron represented a newer Soca generation developing behind and in front of the music.

Then KES closed with an extended set that moved between contemporary Soca and broader Caribbean influences.

TIMELESS became more than two unrelated headline performances. The entire night reflected the musical crossover promised by its title.

Why TIMELESS Worked

What connected Maxi Priest and KES was not that they made the same type of music.

It was that both had demonstrated how Caribbean music could travel beyond the boundaries normally placed around it.

Maxi represented the proof that a Caribbean-rooted artist could build records that remained recognizable internationally across decades.

KES represented another generation exploring how Soca and Caribbean music might reach audiences beyond Carnival without losing the energy that made the music distinctive.

On March 31, 2013, those two stories met at Stage 48.

From the Julianspromos Archives

For Julianspromos, TIMELESS came during a period when the platform's coverage was expanding from its earlier interviews and Caribbean community events into increasingly substantial live concerts.

Julian C. Hackett shot and edited the TIMELESS footage, with the finished highlights uploaded on April 2, 2013, two days after the concert.

Stage 48 became another stop in a growing period of New York concert coverage that was placing Julianspromos cameras inside larger venues and professionally promoted Caribbean productions.

But the real value of the TIMELESS video today comes from what was happening in front of the camera.

Maxi Priest was already an international Caribbean veteran whose biggest records had endured for decades. KES were established but still moving toward much of the international success that would follow. Red Fox and Beniton connected the night to New York Dancehall, while Nutron appeared as his transition from behind-the-scenes producer toward front-line artist was becoming more visible.

That makes TIMELESS a fitting name in hindsight.

The footage captures Caribbean music's past and its emerging future sharing one Manhattan stage on Easter Sunday 2013.