Limited tickets still available for Arizona’s ¡Viva Iriezona! A Celebration of Music and Arts
Photo courtesy of ¡Viva Iriezona!
It’s been a difficult ride for the music industry and talented reggae musicians the past year, but hope is arriving, and we are excited to report a music festival in Arizona, ¡Viva Iriezona! A Celebration of Music and Arts, is taking place on Hidden Lake in Buckeye, Arizona, April 9th through April 11th. The festival is presented by The Dub Shack.
The festival’s headliners are Kyle Smith on Friday, Mike Love on Saturday, and Sensi Trails on Sunday. Dailyreggae.com caught up with the festival organizer to learn more about the festival line-up, camping, art and COVID-19 safety guidelines. A festival Facebook post confirmed tickets are still available, but only a small amount are left for purchase.
“We had an opportunity with Hidden Lake. Jen and Luke came to me and wanted to put on a show,” said festival organizer, Jeff Kunz. “I manage ZeeCeeKeely, a local band here in Tucson. They were like what about Black Bottom Lighters, The Irie, ZeeCeeKeely? It all started out as a small little project that was supposed to be a few local bands but then we decided to try and get some more bands. Everyone is dying to get out there and play some music right now!”
Kunz added, “It went from a three or four one day band kind of thing to a three-day festival. Securing Karim Israel from Arise Roots on Saturday really helped with the momentum, so I reached out to Mike Love and never in a million years did I think he would say, ‘Yeah man, I want to play!’ Once I got Mike and Karim lined up things fell into place and we had people knocking down the door.”
The festival, hosted by Ras Mike, is offering limited camping, a bar, food trucks and games. Here is the schedule breakdown by day:
Friday, April 9th: Kyle Smith, Black Bottom Lighters, Aaron Wolf, Desert Fish, The Tones, So/Below
Saturday, April 10th: Mike Love, Karim Israel, ZeeCeeKeely, The Late Ones, Lakedub, The Riddims, Ras Rebellion, High Frequency, Summit Dub Squad
Sunday, April 12th: Sensi Trails, The Irie, Audic Empire, Synrgy, Dubbest, The Resinators, Undisclosed, Pacific Roots, Jahlos and The Rebels, Rilen’Out, Nick Loporchio of Iya Terra (DJ Porch).
The festival is also promoting some cool live art from Al Scholl and Keri Ercolini. Kunz said Al will be on stage with Mike Love and Karim Israel. They’ll also have their own booths.
Kunz discussed his great collaboration with The Dub Shack and how they are hoping to plan another festival in California in October.
The festival, which is limited to 750 people, lists its COVID-19 guidelines and precautions on its Eventbrite post, where you can purchase tickets.
We are excited to see more live music like this festival taking place! Cygnill plans to attend the festival, so look out for some artist interviews to come!
