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1st Annual Dreadstock Festival 2004 This year on September 25th and 26th, crowds in Vallejo, CA were treated to one of the first festivals to come to the north bay since the Napa Valley Reggae Festival stopped happening. organized by the Unity Life Youth Project (ULYP) this festival helped to benefit youth in Vallejo. I was honored this year to be the press tent manager/moderator, and video from the interviews will be posted soon. The first act on Friday was Salinas' own Dubwize, who I saw the sound check for at Sierra Nevada. I finally got to see their actual set, and just WOW, that's one solid group (I'm also partial to any band with a melodica). They opened up the festival to the crowd coming in, and everyone i saw out there seemed to really be enjoying them. Also, that day Tchiya Amet took the stage with The Lighthouse band, who kept the riddim steady, not to mention Tchiya is one talented singer. It's always great to see the Sistren getting the respect at the festivals they deserve. Next up the crowd was treated to reggae sensation from the Bay Area by way of Chile Red I. Red I put on a great high energy dancehall set, backed by Wadi Gad's band. Mixing it up in English and Spanish created a unique vibe, as you don't get to hear much reggae music in Spanish, although Spanish is a widely-spoken language in the area. Next we were treated to Haile Maskel, formerly of the legendary American-based band The Rastafarians. He put on a very entertaining set, again backed by the band with Wadi Gad on drums and Ralston Grant from the Twinkle brothers on guitar. After a great set from Haile Maskel, Wadi stepped up from behind the drums to do a set of his own. He went through songs from albums such as New Day, Writing on The Wall, and several others. The crowd really enjoyed the set, and i've got to say that every time i've seen Wadi perform (3 times with Don Carlos and once at Dreadstock) he always comes through with a very professional, roots set. He also was kind enough to come into the press tent later in the day and share a lot of wisdom with those of us in the press (Video of his interview will be available soon). Earl Zero took the stage after Wadi, but in all honesty, i did not get to check as much of his set as I would have liked to. But the part i did get to check out was very solid. There was a second stage set up over the weekend, which was mostly soundsystems on Saturday, however there was an excellent performance with Brimstone and Ranking Joe. Ranking Joe came out with a version of Grandmaster Flash's "The Message" inna dancehall style over the Stalag Riddim and the crowd went wild over there. The second to last act of the day on the main stage was Prezident Brown. Unlike Reggae In the Park, Dreadstock let the Prezident play a full set. And what a set it was. ULYP really did a great job putting together an excellent festival with solid artists. Prezident performed favorites like To Jah Only, Microchip, and Rough Road, and new songs from his album "Generation Next". We were also blessed in the Press tent to have Prezident Brown stop by, who was in a bit of a hurry because he had a show in Fairfax the same night, but he was nice enough to take a good 15-20 minutes to talk to us in the press tent. The last act was Pablo Moses, who from all acounts put on a good show, although in my opinion it's pretty hard to go on after the Prezident. Overall, the first day was very fun, and it was great to see a positive festival coming to the North bay. Sunday Sunday started off with San Luis Obispo's Resination, who put on a good solid opening set. The next act up was the beautiful and talented sistren Luna Angel. She's got a really unique R&B sound to her voice while keeping a steady reggae riddim. Also an interesting fact, she's the niece of Wailer's guitarist Junior Marvin. She put on a really entertaining set, and almost immidiatley afterwords joined us the press tent for an in-depth interview that all in the tent felt went really well. After Ms. Angel left the stage, it was time for local favorites Groundation. Now, I've had mixed feelings about this group in the past, I've always considered what they do for the scene to be great, but in the past haven't always felt some of the music. But I have to say, they came HEAVY at Dreadstock, being the only band i saw all weekend to have the crowd demand an encore. All i can say, is this band has come a long way since i first saw them 4 years ago. Check out for this band, they are getting tighter and more solid, and can go on to some big things. The next attraction was the "Roots of Aloha Celebration" featuring the Bay Area's Native Elements, and Hawaii's Marty Dread and Humble Soul. Native Elements went on first with their own set, which is always high energy. I wish i got to see them more often (i've seen them 3 or 4 times, all with several year periods without seeing them). After their set, they stayed on stage and Marty Dread came up. His set was excellent, however i can't really give examples of songs or anything since I am unfamiliar with his work. He's on my list of artists to check for when they come to the bay area again. After Marty Humble Soul came on stage and was pure roots. Later, Ranking Joe alongside Sammy Dread made a stop at the main stage with Wadi Gad's group backing. It was an classic dancehall style, with Ranking Joe and Sammy brining an old-school vibe that got the whole place moving. There's nothing like seeing old school crucial singer-deejay duos live. The last act on the main stage Sunday was Pablo Moses, who due to taking down some of our press tent stuff and saying goodbyes to all the new and old friends I had met at the show, i didn't get to see much of. He sounded good though from what I got to actually hear and listen to. Sunday was a bigger day for the second stage, which I got to check out at various times throughout the day. I was able to catch conscious youths Prince Rastan and Ahaya and their father Tito Caleto performing alongside the Selecta7Sound. They put on a fairly high-energy set. Also that day I got to catch bay area artist Ras D. He was actually backed by musicians, and put on an entertaining set, although I missed a lot of it.
Overall, I thought Dreadstock was a great festival, and a welcome addition to the bay area reggae scene. We at Bay Area hope to see this festival strive and go on for years. Who knows, maybe it'll eventually become as popular as some of the major fests (ROTR, SNWMF, etc...). Big up to everyone who put dreadstock together and made it an entertaining and enlightening experience for everyone. By, Ras James
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