Fortunate Youth at Florida’s Jannus Live

On January 24^th, Fortunate Youth came to St. Petersburg to Jannus Live with an amazing trio of bands. The line of Fortunate Fools, Family, Guest and fans went around filling Jannus Live for another crowd of over 1,500. Everyone grabbed their fill of food and drinks while packing in the venue to get ready for a night of fire reggae music.

First onstage to get this huge, anxious crowd started was A.S.S. (Artikal Sound System), opening the night with their rootsy, melodious tunes. Logan Rex draws you in with her unique voice and lively dancing. She had the crowd jumping along while they spread their love vibes out into the crowd. Each member of the band joined in on vocals and ripped some incredible solos. Chis Montague took front stage with his guitar and did an awesome solo, too. These amazing musicians — with Adam Kampf on drums, Fabian Acuna on bass and last, but certainly not least, Christopher Cope on keys — had reggae family and fans swaying along in unison. Everyone was pumped up for this amazing show. Make sure you put them on your list and check them out!

Always putting on a great show, Fortunate Youth mixed in some old and new songs that we all love.

Next up, Passafire took the stage with a dub reggae rock vibe and were monsters! This talented band consists of lead singer-guitarist Ted Bowne, drummer Nick Kubley, keyboardist-guitarist Mike DeGuzman and bassist Will Kubley. DeGuzman ripped a solo on the keys like he was playing a guitar… before he picked up a guitar and did the same! This energetic band put on a high-energy show throughout their entire set and everyone was loving their vibes. Formed in Savannah, Georgia, these boys are relentlessly on tour, so check them out live along with their new single, “Sleepless”.

Finally, what everyone had been waiting for. Dan Kelly walked out onto stage with the rest of the Fortunate Youth men, as the fans were screaming, lighting up and getting ready to pass it around. Kelly is a beast, singing with so much passion and expression that he just owns the stage and draws everyone into his powerful lyrics. Always putting on a great show, Fortunate Youth mixed in some old and new songs that we all love. Joining them onstage for a song were members of Artikal Sound System, Passafire and a special guest from New Orleans, Aliadon, who killed it by adding in some hip hop to the show. Ryan Kordich (of Eureka Sound) stepped in on keys and Jamey Zeb Dekofsky (of Tribal Seeds) hopped on drums filling in for Travis and Jared who couldn’t be here. You’d have to be an incredibly talented musician to step in from one amazing band to another; the two did an outstanding job. Adding more excitement, Travi Seeds came out with inflated bananas, tossing them into the crowd and firing up monster joints as Dan Kelly said, “This, I think, is the biggest one on the Florida tour.”

As Dan smoked, he started the song “Burn One”, saying he wants to smoke with everyone. He tossed the giant joint into the crowd, where an eager fan caught it, toked it and passed it around as the crowd sang “pass it around”. What an epic night of music, friends and family with everyone rocking from side to side, singing songs together like “Friends and Family”, “Burn One” and “Sweet Love.” We always look forward to seeing and smoking with Fortunate Youth and you should, too!

Photography by Brian “Porkchop” Nicholson

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