For the 35th year, Reggae on the River, which has seen its share of tumult and financial struggle, brought crowds, musicians, artists and vendors to a multi-day party on the North Coast after a five-year absence. From Aug. 2-4, reggae lovers returned to County Line Ranch for camping and live performances, hosted by the Mateel […]
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Posted inArts + Scene
Music Tonight: Tuesday, Sept. 19
Popular Samoan American reggae artist J. Boog is back in town, setting up shop at the Arcata Theatre Lounge tonight at 7 p.m. for an evening of SoCal/Jamaican vibrations. Openers THRIVE! are cut from a similar style, and the tickets range from $39.50 for general admission, to a pre-show meet and greet with the headliner […]
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Rize Up, Reggae Fans
If you’re a fan of reggae star Nattali Rize and haven’t seen her live since Reggae on the River in 2017, don’t miss your chance to catch her this Saturday, Sept. 3, at Mateel Community Center ($25, $20 advance). Rize is back to raise the roof and the vibes with her six-piece band from Australia […]
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Now Entering Babylon: Reggae on the River with High Times
“Every time I get high/ Babylon falls.” It was late Friday afternoon at Reggae on the River and the first live musical act on the lineup was just getting started. Hempress Sativa, born Kerida Johnson in Kingston, Jamaica, was performing with her band the Unconquerebels. At the mic, the self-crowned Hempress shone in a Rastafari […]
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Irie Stylings at Reggae on the River
Instagram-ready festival wear has become its own species of personal expression. The styles at Reggae on the River are certainly qualify, whether on performers, fans or the vendors, workers and volunteers who make the show possible, including volunteer security personnel, medics, food truck operators, cooks, camera people, sound technicians and journalists. Oven-like August temperatures presented a […]
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Reggae Colors
By now, everybody who was grooving to irie sounds at French’s Camp last weekend during Reggae on the River has packed away their tents, shaken off the dust and returned to solid cell service. If you missed it or just miss it already, photographer Erica Botkin was right in the middle of the colorful four-day […]
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Reggae Headliner Re-stokes Murder Music Outcry
Reggae on the River kicks off this weekend but the festival’s choice of headliner has some local LGBTQ groups wondering if “Murder Music on the River” might be a more fitting moniker. In its 32nd year, the four-day summer music festival put on by the Mateel Community Center has confirmed Jamaican reggae artist Sizzla Kalonji […]
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The New Woven Roots Video For “Chicken Coop” Features a Girl in a Chicken Coop
Check it out, mon! The new video from Arcata reggae bros Woven Roots is all about representin’ da Humboldt values: sustainable agriculture, a locavore diet and respect for women. Respek! How do we know they respek da ladies? Because the video says so in a warning right up front. It says “No Women … were […]
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Tonight’s Controversial Capleton Show Will Be At …
After weeks of fyah spewin’ between dancehall enthusiasts and LGBT activists, Bonus Entertainment’s Beau DeVito just made the following announcement about the location of tonight’s controversial Capleton show via da Facebooks: CAPLETON @ the ocean grove tonight…30adv at peoples records arcata and nhs arcata….doors at 9…Blaaze it !!! That would be the Ocean Grove Lodge […]
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Sex Assault Rumor Worries Reggae Organizers
Reggae on the River organizers are trying to sound a “safe, family event” note at the same time that they’re scrambling for more details about a reported sex assault in a campground south of the festival. The scramble hasn’t been made easier by an apparent mis-communication between Humboldt and Mendocino county sheriff’s departments. Back on […]
Posted inNews
Reggae on the River – Still at Benbow
There’s something about Reggae on the River that gets the rumor mill grinding. In the last month the Journal has heard from readers that the annual concert put on by the Mateel Community Center was “definitely moving to a new location,” away from Benbow, that everything was in place for relocating to Riverview Ranch, home […]