Memorializing Katastro’s Andy J. Chaves at Tempe’s Marquee Theater

Wednesday at the Marquee Theater in Tempe, AZ was a night to remember and memorialize the ever-talented, ever-unique and ever-charismatic Andrew James Chaves of Arizona indie-meets-hip hop-meets-reggae supergroup Katastro. Chaves, Katastro’s founding member and frontman, passed away in a tragic car accident on May 12th, 2022 in Newport Beach, CA, stunning the community and forever […]

SOJA sells out Ineffable’s new Ventura Music Hall

Ventura Music Hall spoiled me on July 23rd. The bowling alley-turned-music venue (recently opened in March 2022) welcomed Kyle Smith, The Elovaters and SOJA to the stage for an unforgettable night of reggae rock music (with a splash of punk rock thrown in). It has been about 14 years since SOJA graced a stage smaller […]

WORLD VIDEO PREMIERE: Ghost.Wav “Coast to Coast”

Welcome to the world of Ghost.Wav — the new endeavor from Project 432 players Nick Wimer and Mark LeBlanc. Based out of Colorado, you know that Ghost.Wav holds true to the trancy, dubby reggae beats that state is starting to be known for. You know, the kind of synthy, trippy goodness, backed by a lot […]

Getting Slightly Stoopid at Berkeley’s Greek Theatre

Slightly Stoopid’s Summer Traditions Tour hit Berkeley’s Greek Theater on July 23rd, with special guests Pepper, Common Kings and Fortunate Youth. Doors for the reggae party opened early at 4:30pm, with Fortunate Youth kicking things off at 6pm with “Peace Love and Unity”. It was a beautiful California day; the sun was shining on the […]

“Gimme Love” says The Elovaters in new single

Boston’s finest, The Elovaters, returns to the spotlight with their newest single “Gimme Love”: a sensual, stripped-down track that oozes sex and begs to be called on for a date night/late night ambient background vibes. Officially released at midnight on Friday, August 5th via Full Belly Records, the steamy song was available for pre-listening Thursday […]

Bayfest San Diego expands with first-ever Mission Bayfest

If you’ve happened to attend one (or all) of the past three Bayfests in San Diego, you would know how this fest celebrates all that is Southern California culture. And, it’s also the ultimate kickoff for summer! Now that 2022’s summer installment of Bayfest has come and gone (with headliners Iration, Atmosphere and beyond), the […]

Iya Terra plays postponed show at The Observatory, Santa Ana

Iya Terra closed out their nationwide tour, commemorating the release of their 2021 Ease & Grace album. Santa Ana warmly welcomed the hometown band back to The Observatory on July 16th. Fans were left eagerly awaiting the celebration last April, when Iya Terra was forced to postpone five of their southern California shows due to […]

California Roots 2022: Day Four

The fourth and final day of Cali Roots 2022 was one for the books. We laughed, we cried, we danced, we loved, we sang, we vibed and we all connected on a level that no one can describe quantitatively without sounding a little ‘woo-woo’. Simply put — it was magic. We were magic. Day Four […]

Slightly Stoopid stirs up Avila Beach, CA

After two long years, Slightly Stoopid‘s renowned summer tour was finally back in action, hitting Avila Beach on July 14th, 2022. Not only that, but this time around, the Stoopid boys are being joined by some of the hottest reggae bands in the business: Fortunate Youth, Common Kings and Pepper (which unfortunately couldn’t make the […]

Slightly Stoopid’s Summer Traditions Tour ignites Irvine

A Friday evening in southern California typically consists of commuters impatiently maneuvering through infamous rush hour traffic in an eager attempt to get home. However, things were different on July 15th, which had commuters heading straight to LiveNation’s FivePoint Amphitheatre in Irvine instead. The reggae community shows up, there is no question about that. And, […]

Dirty Heads gets it ‘Kraken’ in Apopka, Florida

One of the best lineups I’ve seen all year hit a brand-new amphitheater in Apopka, Florida on July 16th! A lot of people traveled from all over Florida to check out the Let’s Get It Kraken Tour, with alt reggae heavyweights Dirty Heads headlining over SOJA, Tribal Seeds and more. The local Florida band that […]

Being at Bayfest San Diego 2022

Southern California is no stranger to live music; hosting hundreds of festivals throughout the year is a steeple of the palm tree riddled lifestyle. Despite these high numbers, there are some festivals locals, transplants and vacationers alike won’t want to miss.  Bayfest is one of those festivals.  Waterfront Park in downtown San Diego annually welcomes […]

The Black Seeds unleash ample ‘Love & Fire’ in new LP

Summertime, feeling fine. Love& Fire, The Black Seeds’ seventh full-length studio album, is a sunny and bright collection of 10 easy-listening, dubby tracks with ‘beach day’ written all over them. The New Zealand eight-piece dropped the record June 17th via Proville Records/Kartel Music Group in Europe and New York-based reggae label Easy Star Records in North […]

The Elovaters talks with Top Shelf at Cali Roots 2022

Top Shelf Music journalist Allie Adams interviews The Elovaters at California Roots Music and Arts Festival 2022. The Elovaters formed in 2014 and have released two full-length albums and an award-winning EP. Defy Gravity was the group’s first big record in 2018 after signing to not-for-profit record label Rootfire Cooperative. Debuting at #1 on the […]

An ultimate “Showdown” with Stick Figure & Collie Buddz

On July 15th, Stick Figure dropped yet another new single off of his soon-to-be released full-length album, this time teaming up with Bermudan reggae star Collie Buddz to produce “Showdown”. An epic anthem of pursuit and focus that has a rougher, more grittier feel to it than most other Stick Figure songs, “Showdown” follows previously-issued […]