Photos & Highlights: The Reggae in the Hills Experience #RITH2014 June 13 – 15
Photos & Highlights: The Reggae in the Hills Experience #RITH2014 June 13 – 15
Welcome to Calaveras County
Reggae in the Hills Line-up
The headliners for the opening evening included the Californian Roots Reggae Band, Fortunate Youth, back by popular demand for their 3rd year in a row. New to the line-up this year was headliner Collie Buddz from the Isle of Bermuda promoting his recent hit single “Light it Up”. Collie Buddz started off his set with his popular song “I feel so good” , which summed up the opening night experience for the crowd at Reggae in the Hills. He continued that feel good vibe with a string of well known hits from his extensive song catalog including his mega hits “Come Around” and “Blind to You”.
Reggae in the Hills at the Calaveras County Campground
A man made creek winds it way through perfectly shaded stage front areas
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A father and son stroll through the garden mister, a place to cool off mid-day.
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View of the Main Stage
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Fortunate Youth and Collie Buddz headline opening night.
Fortunate Youth
Collie Buddz
Collie Buddz
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Dan Kelly of Fortunate Youth
Collie Buddz
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Day 2 of Reggae in the Hills
Marlon Asher ” The Ganja Farmer”
King Schascha a native of Trinidad and Tobago kicked off the day with a set on the main stage. Marlon Asher also hailing from Trinidad and Tobago performed for the 2nd year in a row spicing up the mid-afternoon with an enjoyable set including his well known Ganja anthem “The Ganja Farmer”.
Junior Toots another fan favorite band returned to Reggae in the Hills for his 2nd time and had a great set on the side stage. Other popular acts from past years were also present for the 2014 edition of Reggae in the Hills, including Hawaiian and Cali Reggae bands such as Natty Vibes, Mystic Roots, Arden Park Roots.
Making their debut performance at Reggae in the Hills, the highly anticipated performance of Tribal Seeds did not disappoint the crowd with their high energy set. Tribal Seeds, based out of San Diego made their appearance at Reggae in the Hills prior to commencing their tour in support of their 4th album “Representing”, released in May. Best known for fusing Rock with Roots Reggae, their latest release debuted at number one on both the Billboard Reggae and iTunes Charts.
For a late evening set, there was no better choice than to have veteran performer Junior Reid close out a stellar day of music with the next generation of his One Blood family on hand consisting of Andrew Blood, Wada Blood
and Young JR “Ju Ju Blood”. Junior Reid’s set included many of his popular songs and a preview of material from his upcoming album. The climax of his set occurred when he performed his anthem song “One Blood” with its powerful message of love and unity in both English and Spanish. As a final part of his set, the entire One Blood Family joined on stage to end the evening on a dancehall vibe.
Lead Singer Steven Rene Jacobo of Tribal Seeds
Young J.R. JuJu Reid
Junior Toots
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Luciano
E.N. Young of Tribal Seeds
Wada Blood
One Blood Family
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Junior Reid
Junior Reid
Kava Jah of Ikronik
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Prezident Brown
Mike Love performs an acoustic set
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Prezident Brown
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Fans enjoying Natty Vibes
Fans enjoying the afternoon set
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Overall, the Reggae in the Hills team thought of everything to make it an enjoyable experience for everyone and certainly the warm hospitality of the entire team and all festival attendees made this East Coast native feel right at home in Northern California. I’m already looking forward to plan for next year’s Reggae in the Hills experience. Maybe one day soon I will also consider camping!
Faces at Reggae in the Hills
Reggae in the Hills Logistics
Where to stay: Reggae in the Hills is a full camping festival with RV and Tent facilities. The weekend pass included camping at a very affordable price especially when booking at earlybird rates (85 in advance) and 120 at the gate. If you are like me and are not so much into camping there are several small reasonably priced hotels in Angels Camp to choose from that are only a couple miles away. It is best to reserve early to guarantee a place to stay.
Recommended Hotel: The Travel Lodge just a couple miles away in downtown Angels Camp met my needs perfectly with friendly staff, and clean and spacious rooms complete with wi-fi access and a free hot breakfast.
What to Bring / Wear: Expect desert weather conditions. In mid-June the highs during the day can range from the mid 80s to low 100s and it can plummet to the 50s at night. If you are camping be sure to come prepared with all your camping gear and warm clothing for the cool desert nights. Bring lots of sunscreen, shades, a hat, water, smart phone (my AT&T service worked great), and cash for the food and merchandise vendors. There are banks and businesses in town that take credit / debit cards.
Area Activities: Stay for a few more days and take full advantage of the sights of the surrounding areas and enjoy nature in Gold Country at its best. For more info, check the Calaveras County Chamber of Commerce.
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