Formed in 1998, Trinity Roots established themselves as a leading act in the New Zealand music scene. The band produced a contemporary sound with roots in the guitar/vocal melody and harmony of reggae, a rock-steady groove and the improvisation of jazz-schooled talented. New Zealand singer Hollie Smith sang and toured with Trinity Roots from 2003 onwards; she appears on their 2004 album Home, Land and Sea.
Katchafire is a reggae band from Hamilton, New Zealand. They present an infusion of the roots reggae lineage with an undeniably Maori sound. They feature Logan Bell (Guitar, Vocals), Jamey Ferguson (Keyboards, Saxophone, Vocals), Haani Totorewa (Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals), Grenville Bell, (Lead Guitar) Ara Adams-Taratewa (Bass), Jordan Bell (Drums), and Leon Davey (Percussion, Harmonica, Vocals).
Originally called simply The Maytals, are considered legends of ska and reggae music. They are from Kingston, Jamaica. Their sound is a unique, original combination of gospel, ska, soul, reggae and rock. Frederick "Toots" Hibbert, the leader of the group, was born in May Pen in the Parish of Clarendon, Jamaica. He was the youngest of seven children. He grew up singing gospel music in a church choir, but moved to Kingston in 1961 at the age of sixteen.
XOVA (Pronounced Cross Over) are a REGGAE BAND from Birmingham, England.
The Twinkle Brothers hail from the north coast of Jamaica in the ghettos of Falmouth, the Parish of Trelawny. The two brothers, Norman and Ralston Grant, were baptized in the church of Anglican Diocese. They started singing in the Sunday school choir and concerts at the age of six and eight respectively. At that time they started to make their own instruments since they could no afford to buy them. They made guitars and drums from various tin cans (garbage can, sardine, milk, etc.) and fishing line.
KING TIDE was formed in early 2004 after a successful reggae jam between vocalist Tony Hughes and ‘toaster’ Sean Collins. During a live show in Sydney, the band was spotted by advertising executives who asked them to record a cover of Toots and the Maytals’ “Broadway Jungle” for a Sony TV ad campaign. The band released the cover as a full length single ‘No Dog War’, which received national airplay.
Walter I: Walter II: A short-lived Irish band with influences from acts such as Ben Folds Five. Walter formed in Maynooth, Co. Kildare in 2002.
Michael Franti (born April 21, 1966, in Oakland, California) is an African, Irish, and German American poet, musician, and composer. Franti is the creator and driving force behind Michael Franti & Spearhead, a band that blends hip hop with a variety of other styles including funk, reggae, folk, and rock. Franti was part of the industrial punk band The Beatnigs with DJ Rono Tse, which released a self-titled LP, and an EP Television on Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles Records.
George Clinton (born July 22, 1941) is an American musician, widely considered one of the forefathers of funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and was a solo funk artist as of 1981. He was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina, grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey, and currently resides in Tallahassee, Florida. In Plainfield, he ran a barber salon, where he straightened hair, and soon formed a doo wop group, inspired by Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers, called The Parliaments.
See Easy Star All-Stars