Damien “Junior Gong” Marley performed at the Cali Roots Festival on Saturday. (Beth Peerless — Herald correspondent)
I attended the 13th annual California Roots Music & Arts Festival at the Monterey Fair & Events Center last weekend, and spent every day listening to music and watching people having fun. This year, unlike most of the dozen or so festivals I've covered, I took advantage of the three-song limit by spending my time as a participant, rather than running back and forth between stages trying to make it to the photo pit in time to snag interviews with artists and festival staff. I didn't do that much this year.
On Friday, we went to the festival and enjoyed 5 sets of music starting with The Elovaters, who were a lot of fun. We stayed to hear Stick Figure's set and then left the festival to see The Wallflowers at the Golden State Theater, but the gray skies turned into humid gray skies that were bearable for some and not so much for others. We were going out anyway, so we gave up on Stick Figure because standing in the rain doesn't sound like much fun. The Wallflowers with Jakob Dylan was a really great show, so we listened to Bob Dylan's son Jakob instead of Bob Marley's son Ziggy. Monterey! They brought in rock royalty on Friday night and gave us a great performance.
The festival was packed on Friday and packed even more on Saturday. Once again, I only got to see the last four acts in the lineup that day. I went out with a friend, sipped margaritas, watched The Expendables, met up with another friend who was visiting from Santa Barbara for the weekend, went to the food court area and mingled with other locals who were there as vendors, then bought some food and enjoyed the fading sunlight of a sunny Saturday afternoon.
The atmosphere was great, people were smiling and having a good time. It was one of the things I really enjoyed this time. As I walked between the stages, I looked at the people and saw beautiful young faces enjoying everything. This festival definitely has a younger demographic. You'll see old timers like me enjoying the music festival atmosphere, but there's no denying the fact that we OGs are in the minority.
The Expendables brought their Santa Cruz rock/reggae vibe to the Cali Roots stage. I love these guys. The Tribal Seeds are such a cool, great sounding band. Burning Spear is the only veteran reggae artist on the bill and it's great to see him playing the festival again. His performance was a little underwhelming at first so we drifted off to the backstage area where there were seats to listen but no seats to see. It was good enough though. The highlight of Saturday was the closing set by Damian “Jr. Gong” and Stephen Marley, Bob Marley's sons. They put on a great show, full of energy and good vibes, and treated the crowd to Bob classics like “So Much Trouble in the World” and “Is This Love.”
The sun shone all afternoon on Sunday. I came early to see Coyote Island and Artical Sound System, both young bands I'd never heard of before. I enjoyed their performance, passed on Little Stranger, and got hooked on The Green and Cory Buzz. I called it a day after Buzz handed out pizza to the crowd while he played. I'm not a rap fan, so I didn't take in Lupe Fiasco or Ice Cube's performances. The festival's closing bands, Pepper on the Cali Roots stage and Rebelusion at The Bowl, were both good, but bands I've seen many times before.
It's interesting that in 1992 when the Monterey Jazz Festival got new leadership in Tim Jackson, festival founder Jimmy Lyons was criticized for continuing to bring in his friends to play every year. People complained that the festival was getting stale. And now with Cali Roots, the promoters of Good Vibes seem to be happy bringing in the same bands every year. Whatever works is fine.
It's remarkable how the music genres at Cali Roots have evolved from just reggae-style music to also include hip-hop/rap artists, especially when you realize the beautiful rainbow of diversity that comes to the festival. Last year was a special year for hip-hop/rap, as it marked its 50th anniversary on the world stage, so it was especially fitting to have artists like Cypress Hill and Wu Tang Clan perform. This isn't the first time Cali Roots has brought rap to reggae fans, but it's clear that it will continue to be a part of the music mix for the foreseeable future.
I believe roots music encompasses many different genres, and that Jamaican reggae toasting (spontaneous rhymes or reciting scripted words over a beat) began before rap spread to American cities, which in itself may link the two genres. While there is a form of conscious hip hop that chooses to address broader social issues and tends to speak respectfully about women, featuring rap artists who belittle or say disrespectful things about women does not mesh with the Cali Roots brand.
I didn't stay to see Ice Cube so there was no live stream of him. I saw E-40 and Too Short's set. I liked when E-40 asked the crowd if he could do an old school rap and there wasn't much resistance, but the moment I heard him disparage women I stopped watching. In my opinion it doesn't fit the vibe of the festival. If it sells tickets and young people like it then so be it.
Good Vibez is a great organizing group that has grown their brand by taking their music all over California and sometimes even to Mexico. We are lucky to have them in town with such a great festival. Unfortunately, their fledgling Rebels and Renegades Music Festival, which took place in early October after two years, will likely be canceled indefinitely in Monterey. The concert business is a tricky field, and it takes someone with a gambling instinct to weather the ups and downs of this business. Obviously, this event with music outside of their usual brand just didn't generate enough revenue to make it a success. And with an already busy schedule of other festivals to manage, and starting right after the pandemic, it was just too much of a burden to handle.
Looking to the future
New Cannon Theatre Company is embarking on its third year of operation as a non-profit professional performing arts organization operating out of existing and temporary spaces. They are committed to modernizing and revising Shakespeare's plays, presenting new work by contemporary playwrights, and incubating new work through the New Cannon Theatre Lab. It's been wonderful to watch them move forward and become part of the Monterey County theater community.
Saturday marks the launch party for Season 3, which will take place from 6:30 to 9:30 pm at the Stanton Center, 5 Custom House Plaza, Monterey. The actors and creative team behind NCTC's summer season are back and have begun rehearsals for their midseason production of “The Tragedy of Hamlet.” Company members are also honing their performances for “Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill,” written by Lanny Robertson and directed by Lisa Gay Dixon, which will run for two weeks from June 13 to 23 at Studio 105 at the Sunset Cultural Center. The launch party, a celebration and fundraiser, will feature live music by “bad boys of R&B” Sea Rebel, and $30 tickets include a drink of your choice (beer, wine or nonalcoholic), tasty snacks from local restaurants, and a raffle.
Celebrate the arts community, dress up in style and have fun. All proceeds from the evening benefit NCTC's operating and production costs. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.ticketsource.us/new-canon-theatre-co/t-nogrkdl or purchased on the day if still available. Also, be sure to check out “Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill.” Studio 105 will be decked out as Emerson's Bar & Grill, where incredible vocalist Malinda Derouin and acclaimed composer and pianist John Weinglass will perform songs by jazz great Billie Holiday, including “Strange Fruit” and “God Bless the Child.” The show also features wry and humorous recollections of the jazz legend and her music. Due to mature themes and situations, this show is intended for ages 14 and up. Parental discretion is advised.
The eighth annual Palenque Arts Festival on Sunday will be held from 11am to 5pm at Laguna Grande Park, 1249 Canyon Del Rey Blvd. in Seaside. The free, family-friendly event will feature live art demonstrations by multi-talented student group Paul Richmond, children's art activities, artisan booths, food vendors, community booths and more. Featured performances include America's Got Talent and TikTok icons Curtis Family C-Notes (60s and 70s-inspired Bay Area funk), DJ Sizzle Fantastic (Afro-Latin music), Jesus Diaz y Cuba (a nine-piece Cuban soul and timba band) and Calpulli Ocelocihuatl (Mexican dance). Bring your lawn chairs and dancing shoes for a great afternoon of community, art and music. For more information, visit www.palenkearts.org.
