Since its July 10 release, Jah Cure’s new album The Cure (VP Records) holds strong at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Reggae Album Chart. The acclaimed Jamaican singer is the only solo artist this year to land this coveted chart position for three consecutive weeks.

Jah Cure expresses his enthusiam. “I put my heart and soul into this album and it is always nice to know it is well recieved. I give thanks to Jah and my fans for their ongoing support. Bless.”

Critics call The Cure “musical therapy to your ears…poetic messages of empowerment and love”  (Associated Press), “another classic…raises the bar of what reggae music can and should be” (Frank 151) and “one of Jah Cure’s most personal records to date…spans a rich, sonic palette, coupled with a wide-range of themes” (MTV Iggy).

In support of his new album, Jah Cure is currently touring Europe until end of August – closing at Spain’s renowned Rototom Festival. U.S. fans can catch him aboard the Welcome To Jamrock Reggae Cruise, leaving twice this year either on November 30 or December 5 from Miami, FL.

With his beguiling vocals and soulful conviction, Jah Cure effortlessly blends street poetry and sufferer’s tales with beautiful love ballads into his new album The Cure. The 13-track set is a return to roots reggae and lover’s rock with R&B and pop-fused elements. Jah Cure co-produced the entire album with the help of reggae producers like Christopher “Sketch” Carey, Clive Hunt, Llamar “Riff Raff” Brown, Justin “Jus Bus” Nation and Trevor “Baby G” James.

The Cure features recent hits like his #1 reggae chart-topping John Legend cover “All of Me” (which received over 5 million YouTube views), “Rasta,” “That Girl” and “Life We Live” as well as brand new singles including “Show Love,” “No Friend of Mine,” “Made In California,” “I Surrender” and more. Jah Cure’s multi-faceted story of struggle and love is intertwined into The Cure. “My struggles made me who I am today. That’s why I sing with feelings, it comes from my heart cause I feel the pain. Who feels it knows it,” he states.

Purchase The Cure on iTunes now: http://smarturl.it/JCTheCure

Don Carlos

The organizers for the Cali Roots Festival present a new two-day Northern California-based event for 2015, the Dry Diggings Festival.  Situated in historic gold mining country in Placerville, California  a locale which once held the name Dry Diggings in the El Dorado county region outside of Sacramento, the event billed as a music, camping and beer festival, has a variety of  activities to close out the 2015 festival season.

Music groups are selected by event organizers California Roots Presents and reflect the unique nature of the West Coast reggae style music genre that has attracted capacity crowds at their sister Cali Roots festival event held in Monterey, California each May for the past 6 years. The lineup includes Tribal Seeds, Collie Buddz, Nahko and Medicine for the People, JBoog, Don Carlos, Zion I, Through the Roots, Josh Heinrichs, Hirie, Makua Rothman, Seedless, Thrive, Inna Vision, Leilani Wolfgramm, Mystic Roots, Arise Roots, Skanks Roots Project, Brodi Nicholas with more artists to be announced in August. 

The Dry Diggings festival will be held at the 6,000 capacity El Dorado County Fairgrounds in the scenic Sierra Nevada mountain range foothills.  As to the motivation behind this inaugural event, California Roots Presents co-producer Dan Sheehan explains, “The idea of going to a new market to do a new show that included camping was the driving force for us, as we don’t have camping on site at Monterey.  Doing a camping festival for both Jeff (Monser co-producer of Cali Roots Festival) and I was something that was desirable and to include all the bands that we love and include beer, it was a win-win.  The foothills are a special place and Placerville is a really cool town with a strong history.  The name of the event is a play on the gold rush history of the town.” 

Zion I

Attendees have the option of camping on site by purchasing the Full Festival Experience or Full Festival Experience VIP passes.  These include a 2 day festival and camping pass.  Festival attendees have the option to park and attend the festival without camping as well, and single day tickets will be on sale closer to the event in September.

The event will feature 30 different vendors and a beer garden.  Four premier breweries; Sierra Nevada Brewing, Lagunitas Brewing, Altamont and Firestone Walker  will all feature a wide variety of beers.   

Ticket holders that choose to purchase the VIP Festival experience pass will have access to a VIP lounge with light snacks, side stage viewing, a VIP bar and select sponsor gifts.

Sponsors for the first annual Dry Diggings Festival include Trip Zero, an organization that initiates carbon offsets to minimize the environmental impact the festival goer makes by creating options that diminish emissions and replace high impact activities with more sustainable options in terms of accommodations, transportation and waste management. 

The setting at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds  with the backdrop of the Sierra Nevada mountains will be enhanced with special lighting and art murals throughout to create a festive atmosphere. The Dry Diggings festival will prove to be the regional highlight of the 2015 summer festival season as it concludes.   To purchase tickets visit the festival website www.drydiggingsfestival.com.

With Richie Stephens’ single ‘Knock, Knock, Knock’ from the album ‘Real Reggae Music’ currently the #1 song in Brazil, it is not surprising that the award winning singer is confirmed to perform there for a series of concerts. The success of the song has generated tremendous interest from promoters looking to book him to perform there.

Aside from Brazil, Stephens said he has club and festival dates in the Bahamas, Germany, Poland, Italy, Switzerland and England. The European tour will last three months, six weeks of which will be spent in England.

While in Europe, Stephens will link up with his good friend Gentleman to perform at some of the big summer festivals. The two will promote their soon to be released single titled ‘Fly Away.’

This is not the first time the award winning singer and German singjay Gentleman will tour Europe. In 2013 with a plethora of hit songs, big stages, flashy lights, and strong performances, the two stars attracted thousands of reggae lovers in England, Germany and Norway. The tour included a memorable performance at the popular three day Summerjam Reggae Festival in Cologne, Germany where they shared stage with Romain Virgo, Snoop Lion, Tarrus Riley, Matisyahu, Morgan Heritage, Alborosie, Busy Signal, Popcaan, Chronix, Major Lazer, Protoje and others.

Stephens three recent singles ‘Everybody Dance,’ ‘Mama’ and ‘Hall of Fame’ are doing well in Europe. They are hits in Jamaica and have charted in Japan, the USA and Canada as well.