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Too Blessed To Be Stressed: Positive Vibrations from Four Reggae Favorites

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Local reggae favorites, Rebelution graced the stage at the Santa Barbara Bowl again on Saturday, August 13th. This time they brought along The Green + J Boog, Stick Figure, and Through the Roots. These four bands came together for a night filled with “roots reggae” music and positive vibrations.

Through the Roots, a five piece “Cali-Reggae” band hailing from San Diego kicked the night off by spreading a message of peace and unity through crowd favorites like “Higher” and “Bear with Me.” Lead singer Evan Hawkins sang “I believe that if we come together, we can get higher,” and it was clear that his lyrical essence was not simply about sharing illegal substances.

Stick Figure was the next band to take the stage accompanied by their fluffy mascot Cocoa the Tour Dog. Although the guys of Stick Figure hit the stage with exuberance, Cocoa merely strolled onstage and quickly found a place to nap in the sun beneath keyboardist, Kevin Bong’s, feet. They kicked their set off with “Choice is Yours” from their newest album Set in Stone. Even with their new music well received by the crowd, they threw it back to an earlier album, Smoke Stack, and invited DJ Mackle to the stage to help Scoot Woodruff out with the vocals. Woodruff opened the song with, “Here’s one for the day ones,” which immediately prodded prideful shouts from all of the long-time Stick Figure fans. During one of the last songs in their set, “Breathe,” Woodruff shared his appreciation once more: “Man, it’s so easy lovin’ you tonight!”

Bursting onto the stage in unison, The Green + J Boog, opened their set with their recent collaboration, “Mama Roots.” With The Green and J Boog both hailing from Hawaii, their set took the crowd to the beaches of Maui with their soothing vocals and crisp instrumentals. The set was almost perfectly split with J Boog performing six of his songs backed by his own drummer, and the rest of The Green band members and The Green performing seven of their original songs. The Green showed their versatility by performing, “What Will Be Will Be” in which the rhythm guitarist, Zion Thompson, sings a majority of the song; and “Love is Strong” in which keyboardist, Ikaika Antone, sings as well! And let me tell you, no one voice is better than the other. J Boog’s passion was tangible when he sang “Break Us Apart”:

Nothing’s gonna break us apart,

but as long as we try, 

love will always make us unite.

Nothing’s gonna break us apart,

but as long as we fight,

love will always make us unite

Ending their set with J Boog’s “Let’s Do It Again,” the crowd was sad to see them leave the stage. As the song ended they all grabbed hands for a bow and threw setlists, guitar picks, and drumsticks to the members of the first row. 

As the lights came up on the stage, Rebelution’s new album cover, Falling Into Place, acted as the backdrop for the stage. Then the hometown boys hit the stage with a circa 2007 song “Attention Span,” off of their first album, Courage to Grow. This sent the crowd back to the days of partying in Isla Vista while these guys played in garages and on front lawns. As this song faded out, they transitioned to their new album encouraging the crowd to “keep it blazin’” with “Inhale Exhale.” Eric Rachmany then took an opportunity to remind the audience that, “We’re at home with you guys right now.” The local love was felt. During an extended version of “Sky Is The Limit” the attention shifted to Zach Meyerowitz and Mike Eyia, who are the touring horn section, during a battle of the brass midway through the song. As the song commenced Santa Barbara native and Reggae enthusiast, Jimmy J, raised his iconic Rebelution Flag, which spurred Rachmany’s response, “Santa Barbara, we can’t tell you how happy we are to be here!” Later in the set, Rebelution substituted their older love song, “Ordinary Girl,” for a more alluring “Santa Barbara” — a tale of a “wild-eyed girl” who’s a “runaway lover.” They ended the first part of their set with “Outta Control.” The crowd, indeed out of control, continued jumping for the duration of the song. When the lights went down the crowd went wild and quickly coerced the boys of Reb to come out for a three song encore. They ended the night with “De-Stress:”

Express to de-stress

I’m innocent

And I feel blessed

Now in effect

To unify, connect

Love the innovation

That I accept

And we let it run

And I might stress

Yes I might stress, too blessed to be stressed

The blessings were felt far and wide after a magical night of musical talent and side stage painting sessions.

Check out all the show photos by Santa Barbara Bowl House Photographer, A Art Fisher, on our photo library.

Shelby Pool is an editor and author for the Santa Barbara Bowl Blog.