The California Roots Music and Arts Festival in conjunction with Ineffable Music Group and Reggae Rise Up are proud to announce a strategic partnership. This new partnership between brands will create the largest reggae network and festival brand in North America by combining resources that have made each respective event in California (Cali Roots), Arizona (Arizona Roots Festival), Utah (Reggae Rise Up Utah), and Florida (Reggae Rise Up Florida), so successful. Add in the smaller regional events from each promoter and you have a strong network of reggae music venues and resources for the scene.
Dan Sheehan, Cali Roots co-producer and Ineffable partner enthusiastically states, “It’s amazing to be able to partner with such a like-minded independent organization who has been pushing the roots, reggae, and festival culture in the States in similar ways. The stateside reggae community continues to grow by leaps and bounds and Cali Roots and Reggae Rise Up working strategically together will just increase the quality of every event for our fans, artists, and scene.” He adds, “Cali Roots in 2019 had such a milestone ten year event, that we are excited to take that momentum and with the help of Reggae Rise Up take it to another level for the next decade and beyond.”
Thomas Cussins, President of Ineffable Music, partner in California Roots Music Festival, says of the merger, “We’ve loved the work Vaughn and the team have been doing with Reggae Rise Up and can’t wait to begin working with them on continuing to expand reggae in the Americas. A rising tide lifts all boats and seeing the enormous growth of our respective festivals over the past years, it was a no brainer to partner up and work together.”
Reggae Rise Up founder and producer Vaughn Carrick adds, “Both of our brands have been successful in making significant advances for the genre over the past decade while still maintaining independence within the music industry at large. While our festivals are in entirely different regions, there’s a common culture that surrounds and supports us. In partnering with Cali Roots, we know that our organizations will be positioned to continue on a path that we believe will lead to exponential growth. Our team envisions great things to come of this for everyone who is invested in some way in the domestic reggae scene. We’re excited to take things to the next level with the California Roots and Ineffable family.”
Celebrating its tenth anniversary, Cali Roots has become a leading reggae and roots music festival in the U.S. by bringing like-minded artists from the scene together to showcase music, community, and culture. Taking place at the Monterey County Fair and Event Center in Monterey, California on the same stage that Jimi Hendrix lit his guitar on fire, the event has garnered critical acclaim and coverage from national media outlets including Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Billboard, Pollstar, and Pitchfork. While many festivals have ended or taken breaks, the strong community that Cali Roots has built continues to grow with more international attendees and a massive streaming audience worldwide. The 2020 Cali Roots festival will take place May 22-24 and the second Arizona Roots Festival is happening February 22-23.
Reggae Rise Up is to the East Coast and Mountain West what Cali Roots is to the West. Operated by Live Nite Events and moving into its sixth year, Reggae Rise Up Florida takes place at beautiful waterfront Vinoy Park in the heart of downtown St. Pete and has become not only a staple of Florida’s annual event calendar but has grown into one of the most recognized reggae festivals in the nation, seeing nearly 45,000 attendees across three days this past March. Heading west toward the mountain states, the brand’s Utah festival enters its ninth year this coming August 23-25 – taking place at River’s Edge Campground in Heber, Utah, just outside of Salt Lake City. Reggae Rise Up Utah is the only festival between the brands that offers onsite camping. Given the secluded and naturally beautiful setting that Utah is known for, it’s easy to understand why it has become one of the region’s most anticipated annual events. Also, much like Cali Roots, Reggae Rise Up Florida and Utah continue to host the largest names in reggae year after year.
Stay tuned for more news about festival announcements, show details, and more through Cali Roots and Reggae Rise Up’s website and social media accounts.
