Steel Pulse members David Hinds and Selwyn Brown sit down with Top Shelf Music journalist Keela Sweeney following their Day One BeachLife Festival performance in Redondo Beach, California. With their long-awaited Mass Manipulation album out as of May 17th, Steel Pulse chats about the inspiration behind the album that took 15 years in the making […]
Root Shock is making WAVES from coast to coast. The band formed in 2012 when bassist Bill Eppel and singer Jessica Brown joined forces; their energy surged right from the beginning, as they quickly started to create material. After collaborating and creating their first songs, the two founders were joined by guitarist/singer Phil Grajko. Root […]
Save Ferris frontwoman Monique Powell is anything but conventional. And, after 24 successful years making exceptional ska music, she has solidified herself in the ska hall of fame if there ever was one. So, when I had the chance to sit down and chat with Monique shortly following her Day One Back To The Beach Fest […]
It’s been 10 years since the release of Julian Marley’s GRAMMY-nominated album, Awake. When asked if he felt any pressure to release another GRAMMY-worthy album, he confidently said he was not. As the ninth child of Bob Marley, music has been such a huge part of his life that he is constantly making music that […]
East coast jam band Roots of Creation has been hitting the road hard for some time now, accumulating quite a following for their unique take on the reggae-rock movement. After gaining critical success with their Grateful Dead tribute album Grateful Dub, RoC is about to perform alongside Dead frontman Bob Weir this weekend — on the same […]
Just before the start of the 2019 and February's One Love Cali Reggae Festival in Long Beach, I sat down with Kyle McDonald of the southern California cative band, Slightly Stoopid. We chatted about how they were discovered by Bradley Nowell of Sublime, their relationship with Skunk Records, their musical influences and their relationship with […]
One Love Cali Reggae Fest 2019 brought a new era of reggae musicians, all bringing back the true roots sound! One such talented artist was the amazing and eccentric Hawaiian native Mike Love. Back in May of 2018, I attended the Trevor Hall show at The Observatory Theatre in Santa Ana; opening for him was […]
Love, Knowledge, Laughter, Joy, Loss, Insecurity, Rage, Respect… The list is thorough for this outspoken middle child raised in the ‘biggest little city’ of Reno, Nevada. As we speak on the phone, the artist Kris Rodriguez (formally known as 'K-Rizz') and myself vibe instantly, going to work on describing a few of his songs as well […]
The band of brothers Good Talk stumbled into my jagged little world one morning and never left. A friend sent one track my way off of their debut album The Arrival; I was drawn into a voice I pegged right away. It was a voice I knew so well, one that I love that has played […]
Ohio-based band Tropidelic has been hustling all year long and with so much going on, we decided it was dire time to catch up with one of the biggest reggae-rock bands on the rise! Following a sit-down video interview at California Roots 9, we here at Top Shelf Reggae were wondering what more has happened […]
Los Angeles-based band The Expanders recently teamed up with renowned EDM artist Walshy Fire (of Major Lazer) to not only put out one rootsy riddim album, but two! With the latest LP release, Thanks For Life, now available on all digital outlets, the band took time to comment on their ever-unfolding career, the experience making the […]
Let me preface with how this think piece originally began in January 2018, while Jackson Wetherbee (vocals, guitar), Johnny “Blaze” Alves (guitar), Nick Asta (drums), Derrick Cabral (percussion), Greg Nectow (keys) and newest oddity to this seamless collection, Matt Link (bass), were down at White Star Sound in Virginia. If this spot sounds familiar, that is normal. It's the […]
They say big things come in small packages. That much is true when it comes to Nirvana Golberdhan, a.k.a Vana Liya: a 5'2″, 24-year-old badass reigning from Deer Park, NY. Now under LAW Records, Vana Liya doesn't have your average entrance story into the mad world of music. After posting a cover of Pepper's “Too Much” […]
Sammy “J” Johnson sits down after his Day One performance on the main Bowl Stage at Cali Roots 9 in Monterey, California to chat with Top Shelf Reggae’s Kristy Rose. Coming off of his Sleepwalker tour, Sammy J chats about his latest Sleepwalker EP, his upbringing, getting back in the studio, his eternal love for […]
This year’s Dry Diggings Festival is vastly approaching. Now, this is not the traditional music festival. According to their website, the Dry Diggings Fest is a weekend of craft beer, music and camping. The three-day experience takes place in a little town in Northern California called Placerville, formerly known as 'Dry Diggings' after the manner […]
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