2023 Festival Headliner

Performing on Saturday, September 9th

Listen, breathe. The kick drum is thumping in an offset rhythm to your beating heart and the bass is thundering vibrations through your entire body, tuning you into the stage and every other person standing in the crowd. Lightning strikes in your mind as dueling guitar riffs peel away the fog and a keyboard bubble floats loftily like clouds over it all. Then come the lyrics, messages of connection and grace. Ease flows through the entire scene and you're awoken by the tingle of resonance on your skin. Do you feel it? This is Iya Terra. Iya Terra means higher ground, which they seem to find everywhere. Whether it be the top of the latest charts or next year's festival billing, Iya Terra is constantly climbing. Bringing a modern-conscious approach to songwriting, Iya Terra crafts messages in love & respect. Currently based out of LA, and with members hailing from the west coast, SLC, and Vegas, their powerful rhythm section provides the heartbeat over which scintillating guitars and soothing vocals float melodies of universal resonance. Iya Terra released their first EP in 2014, then a debut album "Full Circle" in 2015. Then came the album that aligned the stars, "Sacred Sound" debuted at #1 on the reggae charts and the band's following has swelled ever since. Their third full length release and second reggae chart topping album "Coming to Light" followed in 2019. Kicking off 2021 with a new album Ease & Grace, they show no sign of slowing down. The new tunes are produced by EN Young and feature reggae hard-hitters Tribal Seeds, Trevor Hall, Mike Love, Bobby Lee of SOJA, Alborosie, and the legendary David Hinds of Steel Pulse. But if Iya Terra wants you to know anything, it would be this: just breathe, set your mind at ease, you got your whole life to live. One step at a time, right here, right now, that's exactly where you want to be. The rest of your life starts today, so come along. Every single word you say, let it be peaceful, meaningful. Speak from your heart, it's yearning to be.

Friday Headliner

Performing on Friday, September 8th

Bumpin Uglies knows all about hustle. The Maryland reggae-rock band had spent more than a decade on the road, starting with local open mics and backyard parties and growing into road warriors, building an ever-expanding audience with sold-out shows in clubs and prime spots at festivals from coast to coast, on one national tour after another. Then the pandemic hit, and touring shut down. After being in motion for so long, singer and lead guitarist Brandon Hardesty wasn’t about to sit still, even if he couldn’t be out on tour. In fact, Bumpin Uglies never really stopped working — they adapted. The group returned to playing backyard parties around Annapolis, where they’re based, and added socially distanced concerts and full-band livestreams. In the fall of 2020, they also started releasing a new song every month as part of a project called the Never Ending Drop. “We felt like prospectors going out and trying to find gold — it was just uncharted territory,” Hardesty says. “We had to figure out a way to make a living. That’s kind of what being a musician during Covid has felt like to me. You can do it, but you have to be bold.” Hardesty has been bold from the start. He was waiting tables when he started the band in his early 20s. With an ear for melodies and the determination to succeed, he poured his time and energy into making Bumpin Uglies a success. For years, the band did just about everything themselves, from booking shows to releasing their own albums, building a sense of momentum along the way that eventually became self-sustaining, and then Hardesty wasn’t waiting tables anymore. No surprise, then, that a musician with his strong work ethic found a way to take maximum advantage of the sudden surplus of time at home. For one thing, he got to hang out with his toddler son, and he and his wife welcomed a new baby. He also wrote a ton of songs. For the first time, Hardesty approached songwriting as a discipline, dedicating time to working on new music rather than waiting for inspiration to strike and then jotting down ideas in the back of the Bumpin Uglies van on his way from one gig to the next. “I just woke up every morning and I made a pot of coffee, and I had this running list of ideas in my phone for hooks and riffs and progressions,” he says. “I sat down every day and made myself write a song, and 85 percent of them were pretty good. And it was awesome. I really, really enjoyed the process.”

Sunday Headliner

Performing on Sunday, September 10th

Nattali Rize is known for her epic, high energy, thought provoking and uplifting live performances, the 6 piece international powerhouse band from Australia & Jamaica deliver a raw energy and vibe like no other, channeling a deep reggae influence in a New Era Style, watch & listen to the future become the present, this is the Nattali Rize Experience! Ask her where she comes from and she’ll tell you “All directions.” It’s an apt description of a singer who defies boundaries; culturally, musically and spiritually. The Nattali Rize debut album “Rebel Frequency” hit the streets to high acclaim, impacting worldwide charts & hearts! “You can’t quantify the electric feeling we all get when we share in the live music experience, from the stage to the dance floor, no borders in between us, we have a moment to unify, harmonize and celebrate life on the wings of Music without exterior interference. Music is truly the Healer and a necessary part of a healthy lifestyle, a modern day ceremony to remember…we are One People.” - Nattali Rize

Performing on Sunday, September 10th

The story of Indubious is not for the faint of heart. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Indubious was forged in the fires of pain and destruction. Evton and Skip, brothers and bandmates born with Cystic Fibrosis and convinced by doctors of their impending death from an early age, have emerged as a powerful force for change and the future of conscious music. Their only choice has always been mind over matter, and time has proven that their unbending positive outlook, combined with an inspiring message of love and hope, has not only helped them overcome personal hardship, but catapulted their music onto the world stage with an unstoppable momentum. Currently based in Oregon, Indubious has released five albums over the past few years, including Wake The Lion which was produced by EDM/Dub/Reggae pioneer Gaudi. Their new album Beleaf, released summer 2019, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Reggae Chart and #2 on iTunes Reggae Chart. Previous to that, From Zero, released 7/17/17 features legendary guest artists including Dancehall icon Sizzla, Vaughn Benjamin (formally of Midnite and Akae Beka), and Reggae/R&B singer Zahira Soul. From Zero is a mix of conscious Dancehall and Roots Reggae with top level production. All songs were written, produced, and engineered by Indubious, and released on their own label Righteous Sound Productions.

Performing on Sunday, September 10th

Born and raised in Philly, crash landed in Charleston, Kevin and John Shields are breaking into previously uncharted waters with their quirky indie hip-hop group, Little Stranger. Between John’s melodic singer-songwriter magnetism, Kevin’s in-your-face delivery, and an overall undeniable groove, this duo is sure to get any audience up and moving. Stylistically reminiscent of Gorillaz and Odelay-era Beck, Little Stranger delivers a fresh take on melodic hip-hop. Every track brings the uniqueness and strangeness that their name implies. For the past few years, the duo has perfected their live performance by playing over 100 shows per year prior to the coronavirus shutdown. The group also puts a big focus on creating arresting visual experiences through their music videos, their own eccentric television program (LSTV), and in-house graphics. Between their out-of-the-box creative endeavors and an ever-increasing arsenal of new tunes, Little Stranger is poised to make 2023 another slam dunk.