If you’re an avid music fan, you’ve likely been on the prowl for some live performances in a world trying to recover from a pandemic. Fans everywhere are braving the heat this summer to see their favorite artists again or for the first time. Festivals all over the world have been steadily coming back making all our live music dreams come true.

Singer, songwriter, and blues disciple Lauren Anderson makes music that transcends any ordinary encounter. She engages her audiences in ways that allow her and those that follow her to find common ground and share experiences that are common to them all. “My goal in live performance is to offer people a good time, but also to give them something that will resonate long after,” she says.

Specialists is a funk rock band based in NYC, formed in Upstate New York in 2017. The group is led by songwriters Billy Harden (guitar) and Mikey Rotunno (bass). Their dance-driven, funk rock sound is highlighted by the duo’s split lead vocal duties.

Across the next few months, Oh Boy Records will add to their renowned legacy with “The Summer of Oh Boy Records”—a series of limited-edition vinyl releases, special events across the country, a new fellowship in partnership with Newport Folk Festival and more.

Friday night, Widespread Panic returned once again to Red Rocks Amphitheatre for their annual celebratory get down.  As per the usual, the band performed to a sold out crowd on the opening night of three and brought their southern heat to the faithful.

Hailing from Orlando, Florida, Cinema Stereo is a high energy rock band with a sophisticated sound that inspires positivity. Some of their muses span the likes of bands/artists such as Queen, Led Zeppelin, Rush, Aerosmith, Stevie Ray Vaughan, David Bowie, and The Doors. Cinema Stereo consists of 3 unique individuals: Ian Rayha (Lead Vocals/Bass/Synthesizers), Sebastian Borysek (Lead Guitar) and Luke Pate (Drummer).

As the sun rose over Monterey, the final day of the festival we had all waited the last three years for felt bittersweet. The anticipation was more than lived up to as the artists we have all come to know and love played with the crowd of 10,000 singing every lyric to every song behind them. Day four was packed with reggae legends and royalty both new and old as the last day of the longest Cali Roots to date sent Monterey home in style.

Day three of Cali Roots drew possibly the biggest crowd in the festival’s history. The masses served as a reminder to all of the community that had been missed so dearly over the last several years. In so many ways, it felt almost like a family reunion with friends in the reggae community we haven’t seen in far too long. With half the festival having passed, the best was still yet to come as Day three held some of the best surprises of the weekend.

As fans came to the Monterey Fairgrounds for the second day of the California Roots Festival, it had a day-one energy to it. Some were still recovering from the extra day the festival had been given the day prior, and some filtered in throughout the day as they got off of work for the weekend, but all were excited for what the second day had in store for them.

Ladies and gentlemen, family and friends, brothers and sisters, we are finally back. After a two year-too long forced hiatus, the biggest festival in American reggae, Cali Roots, returned to the Monterey Fairgrounds for their eleventh and biggest year yet. To make up for lost time, a fourth day was added to the festivities as the long Memorial Day weekend extended to Thursday.