Cali Roots 2025: Day Three

Sunday May 25th, aka Day Three of the California Roots Festival 2025, had the fans waking up ready. The third day is always interesting, with some people still pumped like it’s Day One and some dragging from too many days of having a good time. But, one thing they all had in common this Sunday was the love for the fest and the music. 

Monterey locals Sensory Tribe started things off on the big Bowl Stage. 

They were a lot of fun, with music that combined reggae, punk, funk, and hip hop to get people moving again. Over on the Cali Roots Stage, Josh Heinrichs‘s folky reggae had people puffing for a nice wake-and-bake sesh, joined onstage by everyone’s favorite smoker We Should Smoke and his quarter-pound joints! Josh always has such a fun, uplifting set. Next came Cydeways, Eli-Mac, and Landon McNamara and still the day was young.

Both the John Dank Show and The Irie were winners of the festival’s fan vote contest and both delivered on their winnings with sets on the OG Stage. The back-to-back party on the grass was then followed by Shwayze on the Bowl Stage, before Matisyahu hit the Cali Roots Stage with a set full of conscious themes. Common Kings killed it next at The Bowl that, at this point, was pretty over-capacity, especially for the biggest non-headliner sets of the weekend!

Renowned roots reggae artists Steel Pulse came next, hitting the Cali Roots Stage as part of their 50th anniversary tour. 

They performed hits like “Don’t Shoot”, “Drug Squad”, and a cover of Roy Hamilton’s “Don’t Let Go”, always putting on a high-energy set which is so much fun to watch. The vibe then shifted drastically to T-Pain, who got the whole crowd singing, dancing, smoking — even twerking! SOJA came next, closing out the Cali Roots Stage for 2025. And, before we knew it, Dirty Heads performed the last headliner set of the weekend; it was an amazing experience but, with them, it always is. The bous played songs like “Medusa”, “Cabin By The Sea”, “Sloth’s Revenge”, “My Sweet Summer”, and their radio hit cover of Joe Walsh’s “Life’s Been Good”. 

And, with that, it was the end of another amazing California Roots. I can’t wait to do it all again next year!

Photography by Sean McCracken

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