Through the Roots, a fast-rising San Diego reggae band with a keyboard player from Hilo, will join popular local Big Island group The Steppas for three shows this month on the Big Island.
Through the Roots, a fast-rising San Diego reggae band with a keyboard player from Hilo, will join popular local Big Island group The Steppas for three shows this month on the Big Island.
The bands will play July 20 at Hilo Town Tavern, doors open at 9 p.m.; July 21 at KBXtreme in Kailua-Kona, doors open at 8 p.m.; and July 22 at the Lava Shack (formerly Pahoa Village Café), doors open at 9 p.m. The Hilo and Pahoa shows are for ages 18 and older. The Kona show is an all-ages event.
Advance tickets for the Hilo Town Tavern show are available for $10 at the Irie Hawaii locations in Hilo; for the KBXtreme show, pre-sale tickets are $5 at CD Wizard in Hilo, Oshima Surf Shop, Miller Surf and KBXtreme in Kailua-Kona or go to:www.groovetickets.com. For the Lava Shack show, tickets will be sold at the door.
Through the Roots will release its first full-length album, “Take You There,” on July 30. The band will then tour nationally with Iration, a band of former Big Island musicians that has flourished in the mainland reggae/rock scene.
TTR has toured the past four years nationally, playing with Rebelution, Iration, Tribal Seeds, Tomorrows Bad Seeds, Pepper, Passafire, The Expendables, Natural Vibrations and Alborosie. This is TTR’s second trip to the Big Island, having opened for SOJA before 1,400 fans at Hilo Civic in 2011.
TTR is led by lead vocalist Evan Hawkins, one of the rising young stars in Cali-reggae, with a talented supporting cast in Chris Cruz (lead guitar, keys, vocals), Hilo-born Brady O’Rear (keys), Taylor Boatwright (drums, vocals) and Ross Garcia (bass). In 2011, the band was named The Pier magazine’s Breakout Artist of the Year, beating out other newcomers like Fortunate Youth and Anuhea for the Southern California magazine’s top honor.
The Steppas recently completed their first successful West Coast tour. In March, they released their second EP, “The Love Shack,” which debuted at No. 2 on the iTunes Reggae Album Chart.