How Pepper brought the party to Pacific Amphitheatre

It was a beautiful, sunny southern California evening, as fans of all ages filed into the Pacific Amphitheatre at the OC Fair in Costa Mesa, California. Friends and family gathered to celebrate the first in-person Pepper concert since 2020. Joining the Pepper party were local favorites Common Sense and Pacific Dub. Opening the night was […]

One Culture releases self-reassuring “Reflection” single

East coast reggae band One Culture resurfaces with a little “Reflection” — literally. Out now on all digital outlets, the new single is an ambient-meets-progressive roots anthem on the power of retrospection. Produced and recorded in the home studio of frontman Kurt Jansohn, later to be mixed and mastered than none other than roots reggae […]

Top Shelf Music News: Episode 16

Top Shelf Music News hosts Kristy Rose and Matt Cook bring to you the best of summer music news with only some slight alien transmission interruption by singer-songwriter and We Speak English Good podcaster Mike E.P. From fictional bands making real-life albums to virtual festivals in gibberish, don’t miss anything in the music industry by […]

Bayfest San Diego 2021

San Diego’s premiere reggae rock festival on the water Bayfest returned on July 10th to host thousands of local fans, bands and vendors after more than a year since the pandemic began. Instantly, the event brought amazing free and great vibes, with fans rejoicing and reuniting with one another after so long apart. The second […]

Mammoth Reggae Fest 2021: Day Two

The second day of the 2021 Mammoth Reggae Festival kicked off with Roots Of Mine, a band from southern California. The festivities started up again around 12pm, with music at 3pm, giving people time to eat and shop around before the first band went on. I was excited to finally see and meet Roots of […]

Fortunate Youth releases title track “Good Times (Roll On)” off forthcoming album

Reggae rock legends Fortunate Youth resurface with “Good Times (Roll On)” — that’s right, new FY music for summertime!!! The single stands as the title track off their forthcoming album (due out later this year) and follows 10 previous full-length albums, dozens of EPs and innumerable singles in between since the band’s inception. And, if […]

Mammoth Reggae Fest 2021: Day One

Mammoth Reggae Festival held its 11th Annual weekend event this past July 16th through 18th and, boy, was it worth the trip up the mountain! On the first day of the fest, everyone arrived early to check out the Village at Mammoth — an area with a bunch of different cool shops and vendors. The […]

Pato Banton performs at Mrs. Olsen’s in Oxnard, CA

On July 1st, Pato Banton and Free Love Project took over Mrs. Olson’s Coffee Hut in Oxnard, CA for the first night of his tour. Free Love Project started off the night, with their roots reggae sound, mixed with real island vibes. Free Love Project is a band mixed with some of the best artists […]

How Bayfest 2021 brought good vibes back to San Diego

SOLD OUT Bayfest San Diego is the first reggae-based festival to return to the city since the beginning of the pandemic. 12K people came to feel the good vibes of the all-SoCal lineup, featuring DENM, KBong, Fortunate Youth, Sublime with Rome and Dirty Heads, filling our empty festival cups. Oh, did it feel amazing walking […]

Roaring Camp welcomes The Movement with Johnny Cosmic

On Thursday, July 15th, The Movement with Johnny Cosmic and friends brought the sounds of summer to the Santa Cruz Mountains at Felton’s Roaring Camp. It was the last weekend — meaning the last reggae show — of the summer series sponsored by Felton Music Hall and it did not disappoint. Smiles were on faces from […]

Killer Diller performs 2nd video installment of ‘Del Tigre Disco Club’

Costa Rica’s roots reggae fusion band Killer Diller performed a four-song session for Del Tigre Disco Club! The series, growing in popularity, comes from the visionaries behind Long Beach Records LATAM and TigerKiss Design Lab (even with some production contribution by LIT, Inc!). Enjoy a full production concert from the carefree country of Costa Rica […]

Dry Diggings reveals full lineup for August 2021

If you have never been to the alternative reggae rock festival Dry Diggings, then buckle up as we tell you why it is YOUR next destination festival event! The California Roots partner festival is returning for two days and the full lineup drop has got us pumped for August! Nestled in the mountain hills of […]

WORLD TRACK PREMIERE: Jahrukus “Ashes to Ashes”

Melbourne-based rising roots reggae band Jahrukus premieres the digital version of David Bowie’s reimagined 1980 classic “Ashes to Ashes” today on Top Shelf Music! Available for purchase via 7″ vinyl tomorrow, July 16th, “Ashes to Ashes” pays tribute to not only the late, great Bowie, but to roots reggae legends at large in soulful rub-a-dub […]

Dan Kelly & Zeb play acoustic at Sealegs

On July 11th, Dan Kelly from Fortunate Youth and Zeb from Tribal Seeds played a couple acoustic sets at Sealegs at the Beach. The sun was warm and the crowd was filled with friends and family with their feet in the sand, waiting to spend the day dancing and having a good time. The guys played […]

Get to know escalating reggae band Rise Up

Roots reggae and rock blend Rise Up is one band that lives up to their name — they are rising up! Heralding from Salinas, California, founding members Chris Alcantara (vocals/rhythm guitar) and Alex Cortez (drums) gained recognition up and down the coast of California before linking up with locally-renowned players Leland Smith (lead guitar) and […]