Wed, 08/24/2016 - 11:06 am

The Soul Rebels Sound System featuring Talib Kweli will kick off a joint west coast tour on September 22 in Arcata, CACLICK HERE to buy tickets! See full tour routing below.

The Soul Rebels Sound System will also be supporting Ms. Lauryn Hill during her upcoming tour on select dates to be announced. The first show is August 27 in Philadelphia at The Mann, also featuring Talib Kweli.

Eight-piece brass ensemble The Soul Rebels are riding high into 2016 after touring four continents including Europe, Australia, debuting in China and Japan, selling out shows, collaborating live with artists spanning from Nas, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Marilyn Manson, Joey Bada$$, Big Freedia, Lettuce among many others, and opening for Bruno Mars.The Soul Rebels started with an idea - to expand upon the pop music they loved on the radio and the New Orleans brass tradition they grew up on. They took that tradition and blended funk and soul with elements of hip hop, jazz and rock. The band has settled on an eight-piece all-brass lineup and have built a career around an eclectic live show that harnesses the power of horns and drums in a deep pocket funk party-like atmosphere. When not touring, The Soul Rebels' weekly show at New Orleans' Le Bon Temps Roulé is known to erupt with the kind of contagious, shout-along musical mayhem that The Rebels bring with them wherever they perform. The Soul Rebels continue to chart new territory as they combine topnotch musicianship and songs with grooves that celebrate dancing, life, funk and soul.

Tour Dates:

September 22, 2016               Arcata, CA                   Van Duzer Theatre

September 23, 2016               Santa Cruz, CA           The Catalyst

September 24, 2016               San Francisco, CA      The Fillmore

September 25, 2016               Petaluma, CA              McNears Mystic Theatre

September 28, 2016               Las Vegas, NV            Brooklyn Bowl Vegas

September 29, 2016               Los Angeles, CA         The Fonda

September 30, 2016               Solana Beach, CA      Belly Up Tavern

October 2, 2016                      Santa Barbara, CA     Velvet Jones

Wed, 09/07/2016 - 6:33 pm

New York City's inaugural Roots Picnic, being held at the historic Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan on October 1 & 2, is nearly sold out! Two day and single tickets for Saturday October 1st are completely sold out! There are limited single tickets remaining for Sunday October 2nd. CLICK HERE to buy while they are still available!

The Roots Picnic produced by Maverick and Live Nation in partnership with Bryant Park Corporation, will feature electrifying performances from a diverse line-up of incredible multi-platinum selling and genre-defining music artists. On October 1, The Roots will perform a headline set with special guests D'Angelo and John Mayer. On October 2, the headline set will be a "Love Letter to NYC" which will feature performances by seminal NYC acts such as Wu Tang Clan, David Byrne and Nile Rodgers, plus a few surprise guests, all backed by The Roots. Additional performers throughout the weekend include, Swizz Beatz, X Ambassadors, Trombone Shorty, Kevin Gates, Deerhoof, EchosmithJeremih, DJ Jazzy Jeff, plus comedy sets by Jerrod Carmichael and Neal Brennan.

About Roots Picnic

The Roots Picnic is an annual sold-out affair that kicks off the summer festival season in Philadelphia. This year's lineup featured Future, Usher, Leon Bridges and more. In previous years, performers at The Roots Picnic have included: The Weeknd, A$AP Rocky, The Black Keys, John Legend, Janelle Monae, Snoop Dog, TV on the Radio, Nas, Vampire Weekend, Kid Cudi, Public Enemy, Gnarls Barkley, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Gary Clark Jr., James Murphy (DJ set), Rakim and many more.

Tue, 10/04/2016 - 1:25 pm

Ocean Grown Extracts, a California-local family owned and operated cannabis company, has announced a partnership with Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley to grow cannabis in a former California prison. Marley and the company will convert the 77,000- square-foot space on twenty acres in Coalinga, California into a large city-permitted, and state-compliant, medical marijuana cultivation, manufacturing and testing facility. The goal is to work closely with both the city of Coalinga and the state of California to become the model cannabis facility that embraces safety and regulation.

This new joint venture, along with the purchase of the prison, will lift the city of Coalinga out of debt, and provide 100 local jobs in the first year of operation. The new facility is expected to generate a tax revenue of over a million dollars a year for Coalinga.

Said Ocean Grown Extracts founder Kelly Dalton, "Damian is our perfect partner, who operates with integrity and shares in our belief in the amazing medicinal benefits of the plant.  He is honest, humble and always puts quality first. We were honored that he has been involved in every step of our journey."

 Said Damian Marley, "Many people have sacrificed so much for the herb over the years who got locked up. If this helps people and it's used for medicinal purposes and inspires people, it's a success."

Ocean Grown Extracts has earned a reputation as a leading producer of pure cannabis extracts with award-winning cannabis flower. Last week in Los Angeles, CA, the company debuted a new Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley Speak Life cannabis vapor pen, in conjunction with their partnership with the GRAMMY® Award-winning reggae artist. Ocean Grown Extracts' trusted PhD chemist worked closely with Marley in taking the original "O.G." (Ocean Grown) strain of the highest-quality cannabis plant to produce a proprietary extract that is a clean, pure, consistently dosed medicine called "Speak Life," which is available in the form of a vapor pen.

 Developed with a deep respect for Marley, Speak Life includes a starter kit, vapor pen and cartridge. With the lowest defect and leakage rate in the industry, Ocean Grown Extracts' exceptionally formulated cartridges combine great taste, impressive potency and a reliable battery. Cartridges are always lab-tested for quality with a full cannabinoid and terpene analysis.

 The news of Damian's partnership with Ocean Grown follows the artist's recent announcement of his partnership with Colorado-based cannabis leader, Tru Cannabis, for the brand new Stony Hill dispensary in Denver, CO.

 Ocean Grown Extracts products are currently available in 50 stores in Washington and California and will soon be available in Colorado, Nevada and Oregon.  Please visit www.oceangrownextracts.com for a specific list of current locations.

Mon, 02/20/2017 - 9:23 am
Today, the legendary Roots crew announce that their annual ROOTS PICNIC is returning to Philadelphia's Festival Pier at Penn's Landing on SATURDAY, JUNE 3, 2017. The acclaimed festival, now celebrating its tenth year, will feature an eclectic lineup with performances by: Pharrell & The Roots (joint headline set), Lil Wayne, Solange, 21 Savage, Kimbra, Gilles Peterson and more.
 
"Ten years ago this started as a concept, an idea, a conversation between me, Tarik (Black Thought), Ahmir (Questlove) and Rich (Nichols)," says Shawn Gee, Roots longtime manager and partner in Maverick Management. "It's amazing that it has grown into such a valued piece of the cultural landscape of our hometown of Philadelphia.  We were blessed to expand the Picnic to NYC last year, and the brand will continue to grow and evolve, but Philly will ALWAYS be the home, the birthplace of the Roots Picnic.  We are super excited to bring a packed lineup to celebrate our 10th anniversary, and as always there will be plenty of surprises and special guests."
 
The Roots Picnic annually includes some of music's biggest and hottest names that kicks off the summer festival season. Last year's bill featured the likes of Usher, Future and Leon Bridges with a surprise performance by hometown hero Will Smith (with his daughter Willow).  Over the last decade, the celebrated festival institution has featured artists such as The Weeknd, A$AP Rocky, Migos, The Black Keys, John Legend, Janelle Monae, TV on the Radio, Nas, Vampire Weekend, Kid Cudi, Public Enemy, Gnarls Barkley, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Gary Clark Jr., Rakimand many more.
 
FULL LINE-UP:
Pharrell & The Roots
Lil Wayne
Solange
21 Savage
Kimbra
Black Thought & J Period Live Mixtape Featuring Fat Joe Mobb Deep Scott Storch
Thundercat
Virgil Abloh
Pete Rock
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie
James Vincent McMorrow
NoName
Gilles Peterson Featuring Mc Earl Zinger
Khalid
Michael Kiwanuka
DJ Spinna
PNB Rock
Tunji Ige
Anthony Somebody
DJ N.O.C.
Fri, 06/09/2017 - 12:25 pm
Grammy Award-winning artist Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley has released the music video for new single "Medication," featuring Stephen "Ragga" Marley TODAY on VEVO! Click HERE to view. The track comes off of Damian's upcoming album, Stony Hill, which will release on July 21st via Republic Records.
 
Shot at the former Claremont Custody Center in Coalinga, CA; "Medication" shows the contrast between past and present, depicting the prisoners who once lived there and the plants that thrive there now. In conjunction with the release of the music video, the brothers released a series of #Cannabisheals testimonials featuring a number of patients who have benefited from the use of cannabis for healing purposes. These can be viewed HERE.
 
Stream "Medication":
 
The youngest son of Reggae legend Bob Marley, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley garnered his own place in music history when he became the first ever Reggae artist to win a GRAMMY outside of the "Reggae" category, taking home an award for "Best Urban/Alternative" performance for his title single, "Welcome To Jamrock". The acclaimed 2005 breakthrough disc Welcome To Jamrock, also won a GRAMMY for "Best Reggae" Album. Marley has been shaking up stages all over the world for the past few years, first in collaboration with Nas on their Distant Relatives project, and then when he went on to partner with Skrillex for their groundbreaking track Make It Bun Dem, which Rolling Stone called "a monster mash up of dubstep and dancehall."
Wed, 08/09/2017 - 6:56 am
GRAMMY® Award-winning multi platinum hip-hop icons The Roots delivered an unheard of 6+ minute performance of their latest track entitled "It Ain't Fair (feat. Bilal)" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last night, in conjunction with the critically acclaimed new film DETROIT. "'It Ain't Fair' was designed to emphasize the importance of social justice through the prism of late-sixties Detroit, which means many things culturally and politically, and also certain things musically,' says The Roots drummer and producer Questlove. Watch their performance HERE.
 
"It's been fifty years since the events of this film, but the powerful images I saw on the screen reminded me that we're still going through the same things now," says Questlove. "That knowledge produces anger, but not despair: music has the power to express both anguish and hope." The DETROIT Original Motion Picture Soundtrack captures light amidst one of America's darkest times by illuminating the power at the heart of the Motown, Detroit, and late sixties cultures all at once. It's the sound of change in the face of oppression and a moment of revolution brought to life in song and on screen.
Mon, 09/25/2017 - 10:31 am

Award-winning vocalist Leslie Odom Jr. has announced that he'll be releasing a new deluxe edition of his critically acclaimed "Simply Christmas" album on October 27, 2017 on S-Curve Records. The stunning album of reinterpreted holiday classics debuted at #1 on the Soundscan and Billboard Jazz charts last year.  This deluxe addition will feature four new songs including, "Please Come Home For Christmas," "Edelweiss" arranged by Grammy nominee Michael McElroy and featuring Odom Jr.'s wife of 5 years, an accomplished performer in her own right, Nicolette Robinson, and "The Christmas Waltz" featuring a brand new arrangement by Emmy-winning, Grammy-nominated arranger Rob Mathes. Full track listing below. "Simply Christmas" showcases Odom Jr.'s soulful jazz versions of Christmas classics and follows his successful self-titled jazz debut.

Said Leslie Odom Jr., "One of the things I was looking forward to most while recording the album was performing the tunes live. These classics are dear to me, we'd worked so hard on the project, and I couldn't wait to share. Things worked out differently than I imagined. I was on a plane for London almost immediately after the record was released for the start of the Murder On The Orient Express shoot.  One year later and we have the upcoming release of the film and a slightly less hectic calendar. We added some of our favorites that we couldn't include the first time around and once again I am really looking forward to celebrating the holidays performing these classic tunes next to people I care about very much."

Odom Jr. spent his summer performing to sold out audiences around the country including appearances at Newport Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, The Ravinia Festival, and with the Boston Pops.  Up next, he will be performing on the lawn at The Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City, IA.  Odom Jr. will also be a part of Live From Lincoln Center, a new series that will present four leading voices of musical theater.  The performances will be filmed in front of audiences at The Appel Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center this December, and air on PBS nationwide in 2018.  This fall, Odom Jr. will be starring in Murder On The Orient Express alongside Johnny Depp, Judi Dench, and more. The film is in theaters on November 10, 2017.

Odom Jr.'s self-titled debut jazz album on S-Curve Records won over critics and fans upon release last year, and debuted at #1 on Soundscan Current and Traditional Jazz Charts.  He completed his run as the original Aaron Burr in the smash hit Hamilton last summer, a role that won him a Tony & Grammy Award.  On the small screen, Odom, Jr. is best-known for his portrayal of 'Sam Strickland' in the NBC musical series, "Smash," and his recurring role as 'Reverend Curtis Scott' on "Law & Order: SVU."  He's also appeared in episodes of "Gotham," "Person of Interest," "Grey's Anatomy," "House of Lies," "Vanished" and "CSI: Miami."  On the big screen, he starred in the 2012 film, "Red Tails," opposite Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr. and David Oyelowo. 

Simple Christmas- Track Listing
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
First Noel
My Favorite Things
I'll Be Home For Christmas
The Christmas Song
Merry Christmas Darling
Winter Song
Ave Maria
Please Come Home For Christmas
Christmas (from The Who's Tommy)
Edelweiss
The Christmas Waltz
 
Leslie Odom Jr. Concert List

10/01/2017            University Of Iowa                                   Iowa City, IA
10/06/2017            University of Virginia                               Charlottesville, VA
10/14/2017            Kennedy Center                                      Washington, DC
10/15/2017            Kennedy Center                                      Washington, DC
10/19/2017            Merrill Auditorium                                    Portland, ME
10/21/2017            Toledo Symphony                                   Toledo, OH
11/11/2017            Lehigh University                                     Bethlehem, PA
11/14/2017            Blumenthal Performing Arts                    Charlotte, NC
11/15/2017            Guilford College                                      Greensboro, NC
11/18/2017            Minnesota Symphony                              Minneapolis, MN
12/03/2017            St. Louis Symphony                                St. Louis, MO
12/08/2017            Disney Concert Hall                                 Los Angeles, CA 
Mon, 01/29/2018 - 5:00 pm

Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley is proud to receive a GRAMMY Award for Stony Hill in the category of "Best Reggae Album." This marks his 4th GRAMMY Award, having previously won "Best Urban Alternative Performance" for his groundbreaking acclaimed single “Welcome to Jamrock” and others for "Best Reggae Album" for his studio albums Welcome to Jamrock and Half Way Tree.

In addition to his GRAMMY win, Damian recently debuted the visuals for “Speak Life” the track off his GRAMMY Award winning studio album. The video exclusively premiered on global music and entertainment platform, TIDAL and features cutting-edge dancehall production by first-time Marley collaborator, Anju Blaxx of U.I.M. Records. The video was directed by B+ of Mochilla and filmed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Click HERE to view! The album also features additional tracks including, “Medication,” “Nail Pon Cross” and “R.O.A.R.”

Damian is currently gearing up for a U.S. festival run this year. He is set to take the stage at Reggae Rise Up in St Petersburg, FL, Kaya Festival in San Bernardino, CA and Governors Ball in New York City. Additionally, he is headed to Columbia, where he will be headlining the Jamming Festival. Tickets are available now HERE. This summer, he will embark on a European tour and is planning his North American tour for the fall.

The youngest son of Reggae legend Bob Marley, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley garnered his own place in music history when he became the first ever Reggae artist to win a GRAMMY outside of the “Reggae” category, taking home an award for “Best Urban/Alternative” performance for his title single, “Welcome To Jamrock”. The acclaimed 2005 breakthrough disc Welcome To Jamrock, also won a GRAMMY for “Best Reggae” Album. Marley has been shaking up stages all over the world for the past few years, first in collaboration with Nas on their Distant Relatives project, and then when he went on to partner with Skrillex for their groundbreaking track Make It Bun Dem,” which Rolling Stone called “a monster mash up of dubstep and dancehall.” Most recently, Marley’s latest album Stony Hill won the 2018 GRAMMY Award in the Best Reggae Album category. Additionally, Damian appeared on Saturday Night Live alongside Jay Z to perform their stand out track “Bam,” and he is also featured on Ty Dolla $ign’s acclaimed track “So Am I” with Skrillex.

Fri, 05/11/2018 - 10:04 am

Lenny Kravitz releases debut track “It’s Enough” off of his upcoming album, Raise Vibration, today via BMG. Raise Vibration is set to release on September 7th, 2018 and available for pre-order now, click HERE.

STREAM “IT’S ENOUGH

Kravitz’s Raise Vibration is his 11th studio album, and is the follow up to his 2014 album, Strut. “It’s Enough” stands out as one of the most powerful compositions in Kravitz’s catalog and is a tense, decisive rumination on the global state of affairs today. In conjunction with the release, Kravitz will debut the impactful video live on Facebook and YouTube today at 11a ET, which can be viewed HERE.

Said Lenny Kravitz, “People are standing up. I’ve had enough of racism. I‘ve had enough of war. I’ve had enough of the destruction of the environment and the greed and dishonesty of world leaders. We’ve got to get back on track towards moving forward through higher understanding.”

Lenny Kravitz elevates the union of rock ‘n’ roll, funk, blues, and soul once again on his eleventh full-length album, Raise Vibration. Receptive to youthful inspiration, but enlightened by three decades of wisdom, it represents a powerful creative rebirth and a bold, bright, and brilliant body of work befitting of his legacy and boundless spirit.

Lenny Kravitz recently kicked off his 2018 world tour last month in Mexico and is set to head to Europefor a series of arena and stadium shows kicking off in Germany on May 31. Please see full tour routing below. Tickets are on sale now— for additional details please visit www.lennykravitz.com.

TOUR DATES:

May 31                       Munich, Germany                              Olympiahalle

June 2                        Czech Republic, Prague                     O2 Arena

June 3                         Budapest, Hungary                            Sport Arena

June 5                         Bratislava, Slovakia                            Aegon Arena

June 8                         Krakow, Poland                                  Tauron Arena

June 9                         Vienna, Austria                                  Wiener Stadhalle

June 12                       Berlin, Germany                                 Zitadelle

June 13                       Frankfurt, Germany                           Festhalle

June 15                       Antwerp, Belgium                             Sportpalais

June 16                       Paris, France                                      Accor Hotels Arena (Bercy)

June 19                       Manchester, United Kingdom           O2 Manchester Apollo

June 20                       Birmingham, United Kingdom           Arena Birmingham

June 22                       London, United Kingdom                   SSE Wembley Arena

June 24                       Amsterdam, Holland                         Ziggo Dome

June 25                       Cologne, Germany                             Lanxess Arena

June 27                       Zurich, Switzerland                            Hallenstadion

June 30                       Santiago, Spain                                  Festival O Son do Camino

July 1                          Lisbon, Portugal                                 Altice Arena

July 4                          Madrid, Spain                                    Wizink Centre

July 5                          Barcelona, Spain                                Pueblo Español

July 7                          Argeles-Sur-Mer, France                   Festival Les Deferlantes

July 8                          Nimes, France                                    Festival De Nimes

July 10                        Bordeaux, France                               Zenith Arena

July 12                        Juan Les Pins, France                         Jazz A Juan Festival

July 13                        Tours, France                                     American Tours Festival

July 16                        Verona, Italy                                      Verona Arena

July 18                        Lucca, Italy                                        Lucca Summer Festival

July 20                        Nyon, Switzerland                             Paleo Festival

July 21                        Stuttgart, Germany                            Stuttgart Jazzopen Festival

July 23                        Roeser, Luxembourg                          Rockhal          

July 25                        Lille, France                                        Zenith Arena                                      

July 27                        Vienne, France                                   Theatre Antique De Vienne

July 28                        Novello, Italy                                      Collisioni Festival

July 30                       Colmar, France                                  Foir de Colmar