Reggae Rise Up Florida 2021: Day Two

Day Two of Reggae Rise Up Florida brought in a flurry of people rushing through the gates of Vinoy Park. The tide of attendees was astounding, all smiling and laughing despite the infamous Florida humidity soaking their skin. As the day began and the sound waves started to pulsate through the air, the feeling of […]

Raised Fist Propaganda debuts Rockaz Collective with all-star video

Renowned videographer Jeff Pliskin, Founder and CEO of multimedia company Raised Fist Propaganda, has begun a new enterprise with two heavyweight reggae names — Gary Dread (of The Movement) and producer Rick Haze! The trio calls themselves Rockaz Collective, providing pristine film and audio needs for the east coast and beyond. Bursting forth with tenacity […]

KBong, Boostive & Vana Liya at Solana Beach’s Belly Up

On Thursday September 23rd, San Diego’s Belly Up Tavern hosted some of the best local southern California reggae and soul groups — KBong, Boostive and Vana Liya. The venue had a warm, intimate setting, filled with great vibes and fans excited to finally attend more fun-filled concerts. It was a pleasure to attend and see […]

Passafire packs Blueberry Hill’s Duck Room in St. Louis

It was a perfect fall night in St. Louis on November 10th. The weather wasn’t too cold or dreary, the breeze was just barely sneaking through, the last few leaves held on with all of their remaining strength and downstairs in the basement at Blueberry Hill — in the legendary Duck Room — rock reggae […]

Reggae Rise Up Vegas 2021: Day Two

Reggae Rise Up successfully made it to ‘The Entertainment Capital of the World’ with an impressive two-day festival featuring an incredible reggae rock lineup of much-loved reggae groups, like Dirty Heads, Fortunate Youth, J Boog, HIRIE, Matisyahu, Mike Love, Collie Buddz, Pacific Dub, The Irie and Native Leaves. Hosted at Vegas’ largest event centers, known […]

TSM Artist #HotList: November 20th, 2021

Alexia Johnson for #TopShelfMusic here, with another TSM Artist #HotList! This week, we visit an island reggae artist originally from Guam (now based in Colorado), a Guyanese artist (famously known as “Lady LAW”) and two reggae rock groups from the San Francisco Bay Area. Thank you for tuning in! (Please set your video settings to […]

MoZaiq unveils “I Love” video

Desert reggae trailblazers Marc Diaz and Noel Morin Jr. (better known as MoZaiq) return with their cinematic debut! Their first music video to ever hit the digital world, “I Love” pays tribute to not only reggae music as a whole, but moreover where the two learned to love reggae music — in their hometown of […]

Experiencing Reggae Rise Up Florida 2021

The seemingly endless live music drought inflicted by COVID-19 has had its impact on fans, musicians, crews, promoters and everyone else associated with the live music industry. There has been a lot of articles and opinion pieces published on this over the last couple years, so this will not be belabored here. What is of […]

Reggae Rise Up Florida 2021: Day One

On Thursday, October 21st, it was finally time for Reggae Rise Up to come back to Florida! You could tell everyone was ready to be back by the lines going for blocks, all waiting for the gates to open. Big props to the RRU staff for how fast they got everyone in and taken care […]

ExpendaHOO! hits House of Blues, San Diego

I decided to take a break from my usual hardcore metal shows and explore some different vibes! The Expendables were at the House of Blues in San Diego on October 9th! They had support from Amplified and Tunnel Vision. Ballyhoo! was on the bill to support, but unfortunately had to cancel their appearance in San […]

Reggae Rise Up Vegas 2021: Day One

Las Vegas is more known for its high-end casinos, nightlife, entertainment, fine dining and wild activities. But, reggae fans had their weekend to rock on! On October 9th and 10th, Las Vegas hosted its first Reggae Rise Up. It was so interesting to see reggae fans from all over the country gather together in the […]

311, Iration & Iya Terra absolutely stun Irvine

On October 15th, 311’s Live From The Ride Tour made its Orange County stop at FivePoint Amphitheatre in Irvine. They were joined by tour support bands Iration and Iya Terra.  Iya Terra started the night out strong, hitting the ground running.  Even with some minor technical difficulties, they still put on an amazing set. Next up […]

WORLD TRACK PREMIERE: MoZaiq “I Love”

Desert reggae duo MoZaiq returns with a sincere and heartfelt ode to not only their loyal fanbase, but the reggae genre in general! Consisting of one half Marc Diaz and one half Noel Morin Jr., MoZaiq, as a whole, ceaselessly encourages uplifting messages embedded between a rootsy fusion sound. That said, this single takes the […]

Fortunate Youth drops ‘Good Times (Roll On)’ full-length LP

POV: You’re at your first Halloween party since COVID ruined everyone’s life and the vibe is kinda off… (who isn’t suffering from quarantine-induced social anxiety and awkwardness?). The host frantically asks you to “put on something everyone will want to dance to”. What do you do? You throw on Fortunate Youth’s newest album, obviously. Their […]

Fall Badfish mini-fest finally returns to Ohio

“Badfish”… an iconic song on Sublime’s 40oz. to Freedom album. Badfish is also one of the arguably most prolific tribute bands touring today. And, if you ask music fans in Northeast Ohio and beyond, the band represents a semi-annual festival that many liken to a holiday weekend.   At Nelsons Ledges Quarry Park in Garrettsville, […]