2023 Cali Vibes Photo Gallery: Day 1
Words and photography by Jeremy Morgan:
Highly Decent Photography
The time was around 11:15 a.m. on a beautiful Friday morning and the streets of downtown Long Beach were buzzing with out-of-towners and locals alike, all headed to the Marina Green Park for the love of reggae music.
As the gates opened and folks flooded the grounds, some sprinted to their favorite spot and camped out there all day while others chose to wander the environment and see it all, taking in the sounds and smells that came with this three-day weekend of pure entertainment indulgence.
The aroma of legal herbs filled the air, and soon the soundwaves would too, kicking off day one of the 2nd annual California Vibrations Festival, AKA Cali Vibes.
Through The Roots
San Diego’s Through The Roots took an early slot on the Greens stage, but had no problem getting a crowd together for a 40 minute set of top notch west coast reggae vibes. These guys knew how to warm-up a festival crowd!
Ballyhoo!
Making their debut appearance at Cali Vibes all the way from Maryland, Ballyhoo! set up shop on the main stage and kicked out their crowd favorites, along with some newly recorded bangers to a respectable sized crowd on opening day.
Arise Roots
Karim Israel of Arise Roots took The Vibes stage by storm when he led Arise roots into the spotlight for their turn to rock the crowd. The L.A. band exemplified the reason it made the cut at the prestigious festival for the second year in a row.
Steel Pulse
These guys are legends! Many fans don’t realize they were the first non-Jamaican reggae band to win a GRAMMY back in 1986! Still cranking out the good vibes, Steel Pulse ignited the stage Friday afternoon and showed us why they stood the test of time.
Mixmaster J
The BoomYard stage houses the festival’s caribbean flavor, in both musical performances and the food served by the vendors in the area. Mixmaster J took up residency at the BoomYard and showed attendees how London gets down on the turntables, spinning up the high energy tunes mid-afternoon.
SOJA
Another GRAMMY winning group, SOJA was a well anticipated set. Soothing the crowd with his gripping lyrics of peace and fairness, frontman Jacob Hemphill stood and delivered an exceptional performance to a very receiving audience.
311
311 is a band that needs no introduction, and Friday evening, put on a show that thousands of people will be taking home with them. The sun had just started to set and the lighting on stage was literally picture perfect. Nick Hexum and SA Martinez haven’t lost a step over the years, killing the crowd with all the hit songs and stage energy we grew up with in the nineties and beyond.
Collie Buddz
Collie Buddz seemed right at home on the Greens stage in Long Beach while he got the crowd blazing, lit by his addicting Bermudan accent and flowy lyrics. Collie graced the stage a few times this weekend, stepping into other bands' sets, performing his verse on collaborations he has with other artists at Cali Vibes.
Stick Figure
Stick Figure brings all the vibes to town. A reggae festival staple complete with a stage doggo (Cocoa The Tour Dog), Scott Woodruff and family spread the dub all over Cali Vibes with an unforgettable evening show as the sun set and the chilly air settled in.
