Toppa Top 10: Summer’s Best Reggae + Caribbean Music Festivals

It’s Memorial Day Weekend—for most of us in the Northern hemisphere that means the start of the summer season. It’s also reggae season, the time of the year when the genre’s biggest artists pick up and leave home, hitting massive international festivals around the world. This is definitely the best time of year to catch all of your favorite acts all in one place, especially if you live in Europe or the States. Here’s our annual look at the summer’s best Caribbean-focused music festivals, from this weekend’s Best of the Best and Cali Roots fests in the States to August’s Rototom Sunsplash in Spain.

Start the list here.

10. California Roots Music & Arts Festival (Monterey, California; May 22-24)
Photo by Alex Geller

Now in its sixth year, the California Roots Music and Art Festival is held on the same Monterey, California fairgrounds where Jimi Hendrix’s legend was born, during 1967’s Monterey Pop Festival. “Cali Roots” generally features a mix of rock and reggae with a little bit of hip-hop, and this year is no different. Headliners include Cypress Hill, Chronixx, Collie Buddz, Steel Pulse, SOJA and Fishbone and, in a headlining performance on Saturday night, The Roots. This one starts today, so if you’re out in Cali, get your tickets now.

9. St. Kitts Music Festival (Basseterre, St. Kitts; June 25-27)

Originally known as the Shak Shak Festival, the St. Kitts Music Festival has been bringing top acts from across the Caribbean and the world to “Sugar City” since 1996. Acts this year include Bounty Killer, Kerwin Du Bois, Aswad, Benjai, Blaxx, Christopher Martin, Patrice Roberts, the Roy Cape All Stars and T-Vice. R&B star Trey Songz has been tapped to headline, which seems appropriate considering his latest hit (along with Kat DeLuna) is a remake of Sister Nancy’s island classic “Bam Bam.”

8. Reggae Sun Ska (Bordeaux, France; August 7-9)

For its 17th edition, Reggae Sun Ska fest has moved within the city of Bordeaux, France,  to the campus of Domaine Universitaire. With the new location comes a strong lineup that includes Jimmy Cliff, Stephen Marley, Popcaan, Lee “Scratch” Perry with Mad Professor, Black Uhuru, Alpha Blondy, Fishbone, Mr. Vegas, Etana, Raging Fyah, Al Campbell and a Three the Hard Way set featuring the classic combo of Charlie Chaplin, Josey Wales and Brigadier Jerry. We also noticed both Shinehead and Mr. Williamz on the bill; after seeing this dynamic duo vibe together during the Welcome to Jamrock cruise last October, we just know they’ll be cooking up something together for Reggae Sun Ska, as well.

7. Boomtown Fair (Winchester, England; August 13-16)

Another eclectic festival featuring top reggae artists alongside acts from a multitude of other genres, Boomtown Fair unfolds over four days on the stately premises of Materley Estate in Winchester, England. Stephen Marley and SOJA get top billing on this year’s edition, but there’s also people like “gypsy punks” Gogol Bordello, blind Malian duo Amadou & Mariam and hip-hop/house legends, the Jungle Brothers. Further reggae (and dancehall) flavor comes from Cutty Ranks, Cham, Protoje & Indiggnation, Barrington Levy, Anthony B, Turbulence and Ward 21. There’s also ‘nuff sound system showcases with selectors including David Rodigan, Shy FX (featuring Stamina MC) and Chopstick Dubplate (featuring Jah Mason).

6. Reggae Sumfest (Montego Bay, Jamaica; July 12-18)

Ordinarily, Reggae Sumfest appears at or near the top of our festival guide. It’s quite simply the biggest live music event of the season in the Caribbean. Organizers have yet to announce the acts on this year’s lineup, so we’re not sure what to make of this year’s edition, but, as always, count on something big.

5. Reggae Summerjam (Cologne, Germany; July 3-July 5)

Reggae Summerjam in Cologne, Germany is one of the biggest annual music events in a country rich with big music fests. This year’s bill contains Damian “Jr.” Marley, Wyclef Jean, Steel Pulse, Popcaan (pictured above), Beres Hammond, Tarrus Riley, SOJA, Jesse Royal, Protoje, Cham and Romain Virgo, plus David Rodigan and too many German sound systems to name.

4. Best of the Best (Miami, Florida; May 24)

The biggest dancehall show in the US and just about anywhere else outside of Jamaica is Best of the Best, happening this Sunday at Miami’s Bayfront Park. A massive, all-Caribbean showcase at the center of the weekend when hip-hop rules the 305, this year’s fest features a mix of reggae and dancehall acts both classic (Capleton, Beenie Man, Lady Saw, Shabba Ranks, Sanchez, Wayne Wonder, Josey Wales, Tiger, Morgan Heritage) and current (Spice, Alkaline, Keznamdi, Ryme Minista, Iba Mahr), along with a handful of soca stars (Fay-Ann Lyons, Kerwin Du Bois, Lyrikal) and artists repping South Florida’s Bahamian massive (Julien Believe, M Deez). And it doesn’t get much more Miami than that sunset over Bayfront Park.

3. Sierra Nevada World Music Festival (Boonville, California; Jun 19 – Jun 21)

Photo: Lee Abel

What could possibly embody the concept of a music festival more than one that entails camping out in Northern California during the summer solstice? That’s the vibe at the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival. The 22nd edition of the conscious-music fest, at the Mendocino County Fairgrounds in the town of Boonville, includes performances from Jimmy Cliff, Yellowman, Third World, Max Romeo, Luciano, Ken Boothe, Big Youth, Jesse Royal, Soul Syndicate, No-Maddz, Admiral Tibet, The Itals, The Melodians and Thievery Corporation. Organizers describe the fest as a place where one can “experience a unique sense of unity and belonging, a semi-utopian moment in time where love, generosity, joy and innocence can be reclaimed,” and, really, they’re not that far off.

2. Reggae On The River (Humboldt County, California; July 30-August 2)
Photo: Lee Abel

It’s one thing to keep the momentum of an event going, and growing, for one or two decades, but three? That’s when you’ve earned the right to be called an institution. The longest-running active reggae festival in the US (and maybe the world?), the non-profit Mateel Community Center’s Reggae on the River follows up its 30th anniversary last year with Edition #31. Stephen Marley (along with the Ghetto Youths International crew), Tarrus Riley, Cham, Alborosie, Protoje and Indiggnation, Collie Buddz, The Congos, Ce’Cile and Emmanuel Jai are just a few of the acts we’re looking forward to seeing at this year’s ROTR.

1. Rototom Sunsplash (Benicassim, Spain; August 15-22)

Photo by Luca D’Agostino

Rototom Sunsplash always organizes an interesting lineup that speaks to the breadth and diversity of reggae culture. This year’s edition is no different. The talent roster—Major Lazer, Bunny Wailer, SOJA, Capleton, Barrington Levy, Popcaan, Jah Cure, Cham, Protoje, Bad Manners, Hollie Cook and, making his first-ever appearance in Europe, Super Cat—speaks for itself. More than anything else, though, it’s the many cultural components of Rototom—art symposiums, sustainability programs, yoga workshops—that truly put it at the forefront of reggae fests.

Honorable (September) Mention

Photo: Andreas Terlaak/Curacao Tourist Board

The festival season is getting an extension this year, with some of the biggest shows typically held during August scheduled this year for early September.

An extension of the North Sea Jazz Festival held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, the Curacao North Sea Jazz Festival has become one of the biggest annual concert draws in the Caribbean since launching in 2010. The fest, happening Sept. 3-5 in Willemsted,  focuses on R&B and jazz, rather than regional music—John Legend, the Isley Brothers and Lionel Richie headline—but Wyclef is on the bill. Curacao also hosts its first ever Latin music festival, Viva La Musica Latina, this weekend, featuring Jorge Celedón and Alberto Barros,. Yes, Curacao is a Dutch-speaking island but it’s proximity to Venezuela has brought demand for Latin music.

The One Love Festival, England’s biggest reggae fest, relocates for the second time in as many years, to Winchester, Hampshire, from Sept. 4 -6. The lineup includes Mykal Rose, Etana, Twinkle Brothers, Dawn Penn, Dennis Bovell & Dub Natty Sessions, Don Letts, Randy Valentine, plus some heavy weight sound system business including a meeting of Stone Love and Saxon Sound, and the 40th anniversary of King Tubby’s Sound System. Pull up!