Sierra Nevada World Music Festival (SNWMF) is still going strong after sixteen years as the region's premier World and roots Reggae music festival. Held annually during the summer solstice weekend, this year's event takes place June 19, 20 & 21,2009. The festival celebrates peace and cultural diversity presenting music, foods, dance, and crafts from around the globe. It all takes place in
Boonville at the
Mendocino County Fairgrounds, which is in this little town is about 35 minutes West of the 101 freeway and 3 hours north of the Bay Area. The presenters,
Epiphany Artists host two stages and a dancehall that keep the music going from midday ‘til the wee hours of the morning. Picturesque onsite camping, kid-oriented performers and workshops, drum circles, yoga, parades, and fire dancers serve to enhance the music experience and to provide something for everyone.
Over the years, the festival has presented some of the hottest World music acts and this year is no different with the likes of Nigerian son of the late Fela,
Femi Kuti, the Afropean diva
Zap Mama, and also from Nigeria, the Juju superstar
King Sunny Ade making a rare U.S. appearance.
Coming in from Austin, Texas is the Latin/rock group
Del Castillo, and from Portland, Oregon come the Gypsy/klezmer/cabaret group
Vagabond Opera. Perhaps coming the farthest for the event is
Comrade Fatso a spoken word performer from Zimbabwe who was featured recently on the
Public Radio International program "The World."
The 2009 reggae presentation reads like a who's who of the world's top touring artists covering the broad spectrum of eras and styles.
Michael "Grammy" Rose, the first to win the coveted award in this category will perform with his Jamaica-based
Dubtonic Kru band. The prolific drum and bass duo,
Sly & Robbie will present their legacy of rhythm. The high energy
Anthony B, the singjay toaster will bring a modern sound to the lineup.
Gregory Isaacs, known as the "Cool Ruler" sets the island pace with his wildly popular mellow crooning backed by Jamaica's top band
Live Wyaa.
Easy Star All-Stars will present songs from their latest release that takes on iconic rock and roll songs and presents them in a dubbed-out reggae style. Just out is EASY STAR ALL STAR'S LONELY HEARTS DUB BAND a release that takes this Beatles classic to another level and is now at the top of the
Billboard reggae chart. Featured on this release along with other reggae-oriented artists are the group
Blue King Brown who are also on the Sierra Nevada 2009 lineup. BKB hails from Australia playing horn-tinged, percussive grooves with social-issue driven lyrics they call "urban roots."
A pair of Jamaican chart-toppers taking the SNWMF stage are
Tarrus Riley, who focuses on conscious reggae messages sung with brilliant tone. Riley will perform for many in the area for the first time singing his monster hit, "She's Royal". And
Etana, a powerful singer representing the wave of successful female artists coming out of Jamaica will make her first Northern California appearance after riding the top of the charts for months with her powerful debut album THE STRONG ONE.
Another formidable female artist coming out of Jamaica to appear on this year’s SNWMF lineup is Cherine Anderson who has been touring in recent months with Michael Franti and Spearhead and has appeared as a star in feature length films. Her music has become successful across the globe and her tribute song “Shine On Jamaica” is getting significant worldwide attention at radio.
From the parish of St. Thomas in Jamaica, comes
Bushman who sings in a rich baritone performing compelling hooks and thoughtful lyrics. He will perform at the 2009 SNWMF with the versatile Los Angeles-based band
Detour who have a lengthy history of performance experience with multiple heavyweights in reggae.
The festival has a tradition of presenting the greatest vintage artists that Jamaican music has to offer. This year's lineup includes three different trios, the first is known as
The Abyssinians with their signature ode to Africa, the anthem "Satta Amassagana" and The Itals, whose harmonies echo the soul of the 1960's, and The Heptones whose song "Book of Rules" was part of the soundtrack to
The Harder They Come a film that introduced reggae to the international scene in the 1970's.
Also part of the vintage roster is
Ras Michael, whose Nyabinghi drum and Rastafarian chant compositions combine guitars, keyboards, bass and horns bringing rasta cultural music and principles to numerous stages including the historic 1978
One Love Peace Concert with Bob Marley and the Wailers.
Michigan & Smiley are a team who perfected the call and response, toasting style in reggae getting their start in the late seventies during the first wave of authentic dancehall music will come to “Nice Up the Dance” performing their classic hit over the
Studio One “Real Rock” rhythm.
Coming from Hawaii is “Maui’s Reggae Ambassador”
Marty Dread whose falsetto epitomizes the “Jawaiian” sound and whose lyrics promote peaceful vibes.
The
B-Side Players, the San Diego-based band have a legendary energetic stage show. And as lead singer Karlos Paez explains the sound,
“We’re playing the ancient beats that came from Africa to create reggae, son, Afro-beat and funk and mixing ‘em all together.” The band effortlessly blends genres to fashion their own forward looking, Latin flavored, future-funk.
The SNWMF Kidz Zone features two great multi-cultural children's music artists, the first is
Asheba who hails from Trinidad and presents a unique blend of reggae and calypso with an emphasis on uplifting the younger generation and getting everyone on their feet. And
Lisa Monet whose original compositions inter-weave Spanish and English and sing along elements. The Kidz Zone also features hooping workshops, panning for gold, a water slide and a bounce house, arts and crafts a parade and more!
Sierra Nevada has a wide variety of local non-profits that receive donations from the proceeds of the event. These include:
Anderson Valley Fire Department; Anderson Valley Elder Home; Anderson Valley Boosters Club; Anderson Valley Veteran's Hall; Navarro River Resources, Pop Warner Football, and the
Anderson Valley Senior Center. There are also non-profits that table at the event and interface with the fans.
And in the dancehall SNWMF 2009 features Jamaica's
Stone Love, with
Rory Gilligan at the controls, after 37 years, Stone Love carries a wide selection of dub plates and is considered the “champion” sound. And
Jah Shaka out of the UK who mixes in sound effects, parables, and Rasta classics, and
Tippa Tone Hi-Fi coming in to “Boomville” from New York with one of the world's only Bob Marley dub plates.
Single day and three tickets are available, tickets available by
Paypal on the
www.snwmf.com website or at the independent ticket outlets listed on the home page of the My Space page. It is recommended that you purchase your camping pass in advance, only one pass need per vehicle.
The full artist schedule by day is as follows:
Friday, June 19th
Femi Kuti, Zap Mama, Ras Michael, Bushman, Ras Midas, Rusty Zinn
Sila & The Afrofunk Experience
In The Dancehall: Jah Shaka & Jah Warrior Shelter
Saturday, June 20th
Michael Rose, Sly & Robbie, Tarrus Riley, The Heptones, The Abyssinians
Etana, Cherine Anderson, The Itals, Michigan & Smiley, B-Side Players
Vagabond Opera, Del Castillo, Comrade Fatso
In The Dancehall: Stone Love & Comanche Hi Power
Sunday, June 21st
King Sunny Ade, Anthony B, Gregory Isaacs, Easy Star All-Stars, Blue King Brown
Del Castillo, The Lions, Marty Dread
In The Dancehall:
TippaTone Hi-Fi
For more information information visit www.snwmf.com or call the SNWMF hotline at (916)777-5550.