The fourth and final day of Reggae Rise Up Florida 2025 kicked off with the same momentum as the rest of the weekend, showcasing Florida natives Tidal Theory and Dale and the Zdubs right out the gate all the way through The Movement and Dirty Heads closing out their respective stages. The festival was teeming with patrons wanting to take advantage of the beautiful views, the art installations, the hanging hammocks, and the various other experiences for one last day. Plus, from the scrumptious Island Noodles to the fresh guacamole stand, the food options were plentiful, keeping festival-goers well-fueled and ready to seize the final day of Reggae Rise Up Florida’s 10-year celebration.
For those who arrived to the grounds early, The Quasi Kings brought incredible energy and talent to the Vibe Stage.
This fest was part of the Ohio-based band’s first run in Florida ever and they garnered an exceptionally large crowd for such an early set. Fronted by brothers Benny and Zach, it was evident that this was such a humbling experience for them. People in the front row waved Quasi Kings signs while the crowd echoed the lyrics to “All I Want to Hear” towards the end of their set. Festivals are such a positive and special experience for fans, but those sentiments are also paralleled for many of the artists. This was evident with Zach proclaiming about how crazy the crowd of such size singing along to the lyrics was.
Rounding out the afternoon was Tunnel Vision, bringing their SoCal ska vibes to the Rise Up Stage before east coast legends, Passafire. Having to overcome some sound issues and threats of inclement weather, the Passafire boys delivered an incredible abridged set; they were also the after party performances, so the shortened day set meant more time to rock The Floridian at the end of the night! Up next was Tropidelic, who performed the larger Rise Up Stage for the first time. Their live show has reached new levels of infectious energy, with coordinated dance moves and a drum line! Tropidelic closed out their set just in time, as some weather entered the area.
Perhaps due to luck or the karmic powers of the good vibes within, Reggae Rise Up Florida has traditionally experienced great weather over the previous nine years. In a major break from this norm, this 10th year was disrupted with a storm on its final day. After a brief delay and an attempt to restart music, Kash’d Out‘s performance was also cut short from lightning being detected in the area.
As the rain started coming down, fans tried to maintain their positions near the front rails, but unfortunately, a mandatory evacuation of the festival grounds went into full swing. Despite the delays, fans remained optimistic. The communication and evacuation plans were well executed by festival organizers and, soon enough, attendees spilled back through the gates according to a new schedule to finish out the day, starting with Rome (of Sublime with Rome) doing a stripped-down acoustic performance.
Despite the storm, Kash’d Out still had their time to shine.
Acoustic tunes also floated from the Sugarshack Stage — a highlight for fans who made a short detour en route to the Vibes Stage to catch The Movement. Sugarshack — also celebrating a 10-year anniversary — closed out a decade at RRUF with Tropidelic, performing for their second time that day. In contrast to their earlier energy, seeing these guys perform acoustically — and sitting down — is a rare occasion. As lead vocalist Matthew Roads mentioned onstage, with appreciation, Sugarshack took a chance on them early in their career. It’s incredible to see how far Tropidelic and many of the other reggae rock bands have come from rewatching Sugarshack Session videos — new and old.
Closing out the festival in its final hours was Atmosphere followed by Dirty Heads. For decades, Atmosphere has artfully melded compelling narratives and introspective storytelling into conscious hip hop, with influences of rock, funk, reggae, and soul thrown in for good measure. Their performance touched on “life, love, stress, and setbacks” in a way that captured the audience. Ending with a freestyle, it was a seamless transition to Dirty Heads.
Also with a strong hip hop presence, Dirty Heads brought the best of their catalog to close out the fest’s 10th year. Throwing it way back, Rome came out onstage for the song “Lay Me Down” — a track that catapulted everyone’s careers all-around. Jared Watson, one of Dirty Heads’ frontmen, spoke on Reggae Rise Up being on of their favorite festivals to perform at, between the location, the fans, and the RRU crew. Truly, the mutual love and enjoyment so many of the artists radiated from the stages elevated the experience for all attendees. This felt like a true celebration of a decade of the great times Reggae Rise Up has provided for us all. It’s far from being just another music festival.
In-article photography by Lauren Deluca & Hello Atlas Media; cover & thumbnail photography by Rob Flagg @robflagg
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