It was a good day. Redondo Beach, California’s, inaugural BeachLife Festival got off to a splendid start on Friday, May 3, with Bob Weir, Chris Robinson, Slightly Stoopid, and Steel Pulse leading the way, and the undercard featuring lots of roots-reggae rock, all of which colorfully defined the SoCal beach vibe. Cool breezes from the adjacent Santa Monica Bay and the Pacific Ocean kept temperatures in the 60s while the early May SoCal sun beamed down on several thousand rosy-faced attendees.

Slightly Stoopid and Cloud 9 Adventures announce the return of Closer to the Sun, the annual music vacation taking over the all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya for four days and nights this December 5-9, 2019.

For the past 10 years, the California Roots Music and Arts Festival has delivered top tier reggae and roots music to thousands of fans to showcase music, community, and culture in Monterey, California. The event has garnered critical acclaim and coverage from national media outlets including Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Billboard, Pollstar, and Pitchfork.
 

The BeachLife Festival, Los Angeles’ first oceanfront multi-day festival event, just keeps getting better! BeachLife is proud to announce the addition of Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Jason Mraz, Southern California reggae-rock favorites Slightly Stoopid, indie-folk trailblazers Dawes, easy-going jam-rockers Big Head Todd and The Monsters, plus reggae rising stars Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds, and tropical songstress Anuhea, to accompany the already stacked lineup of artists performing the weekend of May 3-5, 2019.

The 10th annual California Roots Music and Arts Festival is proud to announce their final round of artists for their milestone 2019 event. Cali Roots X will take place at the historic Monterey County Fair and Event Center from May 24-26, 2019. Adding to the already stacked lineup is Slightly Stoopid and Friends, Atmosphere, SOJA, Tash Sultana, Citizen Cope, Steel Pulse, The Movement, Jesse Royal, Ballyhoo!, Ocean Alley and For Peace Band.
 

It was great to learn that The Trey Anastasio Trio, as listed on the schedule, was actually playing as a quartet, given that Ray Paczkowski had just returned to his keyboard the night before, after recovering from a health issue. That may have been Trey’s first real interaction with the crowd, there before the encore, where he played two solo songs with his acoustic, including a lovely “Waste,” before bringing his bandmates back for a third together. I did love how he phrased it, the news about Ray being better, genuinely thrilled to share “some good news in what seems like a world of bad news.”

The last day of a festival is always bittersweet, but fans came to the fairgrounds early to take in as much of Cali Roots as they could. Day three began as festival goers trickled in just as New Kingston wrapped up their sound check. Walking through the gates of the fairgrounds with this live music already playing earlier than usual proved an uplifting and exciting experience to the festival. Starting the day with New Kingston set a positive tone for the rest of the day.

The ninth annual California Roots Music and Arts Festival will take place at the Monterey County Fair and Event Center from May 25-27, 2018. To celebrate, California Roots is bringing back a second volume of their popular vinyl release series begun in 2017. The limited edition vinyl album has a unique splatter design, mixing four colors and housed in a gatefold jacket spread. The album features songs from artists on this year’s line-up, including an exclusive unreleased song from Slightly Stoopid.

Levitate Music Festival is proud to announce jam-rock quartet Spafford as the final addition of to its 2018 lineup happening July 7th-8th, 2018. The Arizona-based four-piece is self-described as “electrofunk therapy,” and can be characterized by their strong vocals, tight harmonies, catchy tunes, captivating live shows, and immense improvisational abilities. Spafford will be joining previously announced headliners such as Trey Anastasio Band and The Head And The Heart, as well as Slightly Stoopid, Rebelution, Lake Street Dive, Stick Figure, and more.

The ARISE Music Festival is committed to producing an annual gathering that is a vehicle for building and strengthening community. At the core of the ARISE mission is a firm belief that creating a festival experience which inspires positivity, joy and active engagement in issues of social justice is a call to celebrate the beauty and wonder of this precious life.