California Roots Music & Arts Festival continues to impress fans with each additional lineup drop. Through the years, Cali Roots has played it safe, with artists they knew would sell to the fans who have been dedicated supporters from the beginning.
It would seem that the festival decided to take a new approach to the 2020 lineup, which will tentatively bring an even more diverse group of fans to the Monterey Fairgrounds for yet another year of amazing music and art! Now that the 2020 lineup is complete, it’s clear several artists never seen on the Cali Roots stages will be featured, such as Ice Cube, Sean Paul, Jimmy Cliff, Natiruts, Keznamdi, Artikal Sound System, Vana Liya, Satsang, Sensi Trails, Cultura Profetica, The Elovaters, Tarrus Riley, Bumpin Uglies, Dub Inc, Durand Jones and the Indications, EarthKry and a special sunset Sunday performance by none other than Sublime with Rome. With such a diverse rundown, we expect to have an equally exciting weekend!
The 11th Annual final lineup announcement has brought back seasoned favorites…
The 11th Annual final lineup announcement has brought back seasoned favorites of the festival to include Stick Figure, Nahko and the Medicine for the People, Nattali Rize, Through the Roots, and Kash’d Out! Considering each of these artists put out pivotal albums this year, we at Top Shelf Music are eager to see what their set lists will look like. Each of the artists on this year’s lineup bring their own unique blend of sound and culture to the event, which adds to the musical diversity we have come to love at Cali Roots. The full lineup, in addition to the artists mentioned above, also includes Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, Common Kings, HIRIE, Mike Love, Iya Terra, The Expendables, Collie Buddz, The Green, Arise Roots, Natural Vibrations, The Movement, J Boog, Chronixx, Rebelution and this reporter’s personal favorite, Atmosphere.
We have put together a preview list of ‘Artists To Watch’ below! Considering this lineup has so many up-and-coming artists, we want to take a moment to highlight some smaller acts that you may not have heard of yet.
- Earthkry
Earthkry is a Jamaican roots reggae band from Kingston, making waves in both international markets as well as the U.S. The band has been steadily working towards success for the last decade, yet have really been brought to the forefront of the reggae scene with help from several of our favorite artists. In 2019, they toured Australia in direct support of Katchafire, toured the U.S. in direct support of J Boog and even had time for a headlining U.S. tour pairing with acts such as Two Peace, Iya Terra and more. Already this year, the band has performed in JA at Rebelution’s Bright Side of Life Festival.
- Cultura Profética
This internationally acclaimed Latin reggae dancehall and R&B group — originally from Puerto Rico, now in Mexico — plays shows all over the world. Cultura Profética originally formed in 1996 and has been topping the Billboard Latin Charts over the last two decades, including several million views on YouTube. The band has made a name for themselves for their strong lyrics in Spanish related to socioeconomic issues faced by people all over the world.
- Sensi Trails
Formed in 2016 by vocalist Kyle Rising, Sensi Trails hit the market strong with their first song “Just Livin”, featuring KBong of Stick Figure. The band relocated from South Carolina to San Diego, rising quickly amongst the ranks of seasoned artists due to their talent and guerrilla marketing approach. They are finishing up their first full-length album to be released on E. N Young’s record label, Roots Musician Records, sometime in 2020.
- Artikal Sound System
Founded originally in 2012, Artikal Sound System has been steadily rising in popularity, making their way west and playing California Roots for the first time this year! Based out of Del Ray Beach, Florida, the band has several chart-topping hits and have made it up to the #2 spot on the Billboard charts. A.S.S. blends several different sounds, from original roots-inspired reggae to Hispanic influences to traditional smooth jazz sounds.
- Vana Liya
Vana Liya got her start on YouTube covering favorites from SOJA, Sublime, Fortunate Youth, etc. She was discovered by Pepper in 2018; shortly thereafter, the young chanteuse was signed to Yesod Williams’ label, LAW Records. She is the first female signed to the label and has since worked with members of Kash’d Out and Stick Figure. Originally from upstate New York, she is sure to continue making waves at her new Santa Cruz home. This year, she is not only playing California Roots for the first time officially (she played an acoustic set in 2019 at the Nowell Family Foundation booth), but she is also on the Arizona Roots, Virgin Island Jame and Reggae Rise Up Florida festival lineups!
For more information on California Roots 2020 or to get your tickets today, please visit the links below. We will see you this Memorial Day Weekend in Monterey!! #isitMayyet
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