Cali Vibes returns to Long Beach with a mix of reggae, rock and rap music – Orange County Register

Southern California beach culture, hip-hop icons, and island vibes and sounds all come together when the second annual Cali Vibes music festival returns February 17-19 at Long Beach’s Marina Green Park.

“This is a celebration through music of the California lifestyle, with one of those key pillars being water,” said Nic Adler, vice president of festivals at concert giant Goldenvoice, producers of the three-day festival, which includes a robust lineup of reggae and rock music acts, while also several hip-hop artists are highlighted.

“Almost all bands come from the water, they’re surfers, they’re beach culture, there’s a DNA of reggae past and reggae future,” Adler continued. “We can all talk about the beach and the water, but this is Long Beach, and Long Beach has produced some of the best hip-hop acts of all time. Hip-hop is simply crucial in this mix. All of these bands look up to Snoop, whether they play reggae, rock or hip-hop, Snoop is a legend.”

Long Beach rap icon Snoop Dogg will also be appearing at Cali Vibes this year with a special evening jam set on Saturday, February 18th. 19th of February.

In all, the long weekend festival will feature about five dozen acts performing across three stages. Rebelution, Stick Figure and 311 are leading the party on February 17th, while Dirty Heads, Damian Marley and Cypress Hill are keeping the party going on February 18th. Slightly Stoopid, Tash Sultana and Stephen Marley will close the festival on February 19th. Pepper , Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, Rome & Duddy, Trevor Hall, Warren G, Method Man & Redman, Common Kings, Fortunate Youth, Matisyahu, Soja, Steel Pulse, Collie Buddz, Iya Terra, Ozomatli feat. Chali 2na and Cut Chemist, Hirie and more will also perform.

“For me, if you look at that California sound, there’s a lot of that in this lineup,” Adler said. “These are all bands that are just fun. It’s just fun, good music and what festivals should be about.”

The festival will also showcase emerging Caribbean talent on its BoomYard Stage, created to give locals a taste of what’s happening with island music.

“We just felt that if we say the word reggae and really flaunt it, it’s our responsibility to show what the future of music is, and that’s really what came out of BoomYard,” said Adler. “It’s so authentic, very much on the level of what’s hot on the islands right now. Not what’s hot here in LA or in the States, but what are the hottest artists on the streets of Jamaica right now? That’s what happens with Cali Vibes.”

While Cali Vibes is about bands that exemplify this beach lifestyle, the acts don’t necessarily all hail from coastal communities.

“Our band has always loved tropical vibes, although we’re from Nebraska I couldn’t wait to go to the coast,” said Nick Hexum, frontman of rock, alternative and reggae band 311, who are really into it made a name for himself moving to Los Angeles.

At this point, 311 has rocked in the sand many times throughout their career.

The last time they performed at a major beach festival was last year’s BeachLife in Redondo Beach, where their breezy, party-vibe hits like “Come Original,” “Down” and “Do You Right” had crowds dancing in the sand .