Mad Beach Block Party 2 was an incredibly successful event that was personalized so perfectly for the two day party. Madeira Beach was in throwing distance on the sunniest of Florida days with an ideal breeze. It may have just have been the love pulsating through all of us musical family members as we reunited.
I had the opportunity to sit down with the six men of Roots Of A Rebellion after their set and get the low down on what’s coming up.
Lyrically honest, incredibly dedicated, persistent and musically astounding, these six young men have set out with healing vibrations to “cultivate their craft” as lead singer and guitarist Austin explained. When asked who influenced these roots rockers, an obvious “[Bob] Marley” was the first response, with Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Gregory Isaacs and Dennis Brown on that list as well. Other artists mentioned to have had a huge impact ranged from Red Hot Chili Peppers to Al Green to Hank Williams. Not only do the guys know how to jam, but you can still be at ease enough around them to sample some of your best dance moves. Take my word for it.
It cannot be expressed enough how firmly they believe in practicing what they preach. The philanthropic work that they do and encourage others to involve themselves in is a direct reflection of their message. This group eats, sleeps and breathes “Positive Change” and are firm believers in Peace, Love, Unity and Respect. Back in 2012, they started assisting with Habitat For Humanity and began helping the Nashville community even more so with food drives at most of their shows. They’ve most recently partnered with local non-profit Second Harvest Food Bank’s “Farm In The City’—getting dirty planting trees, acting as an extra set of hands for whoever may need it and leaving rooted legacies of what they are accomplishing as a unified group. They love where they are from and that is very visible. This year they are trying to branch out and do good in other communities as they pass through on tour. “If you have a project you’d like the Roots Crew to help with, hit us up on Facebook and let’s make some goodness happen” suggests Austin.
After the successful release of their album A Brother’s Instinct in 2016 (which landed them at #4 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart) the band is hard at work on their next record —working with Craig Welsch yet again at Rear Window Studios in Brookline, MA. They have two months left in their Pledge Music campaign and have reached 25% of the goal. The money donated will assist in paying for recording, mixing, mastering and the packaging of the upcoming album which is set to be released by late fall, early winter of 2018.
Check out their Pledge Music campaign link below to learn more about the record making process and their pledge, as well the Winter/ Spring tour schedule and the upcoming studio album that they can’t wait to share with us and a record that we here at AltWire can’t wait to listen to.
ROAR Pledge Music campaign
http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/rootsofarebellion
ROAR Official Webpage
www.rootsofarebellion.com/tour
ROAR Facebook
