Rebelution

Rebelution is a reggae and reggae rock group from Isla Vista, United States. Formed in 2004, the band comes out of the Santa Barbara area and is built around Eric Rachmany, with Rory Carey on keyboards, Wesley Finley on drums and Marley D. Williams on bass. Rachmany handles vocals and guitar. The group develops a roots reggae style and is active as a touring band.

Releases

Rebelution releases music on its own label, 87 Music, including in partnership with Controlled Substance Sound Labs. Its 2012 album Peace of Mind appears as a multi-format release that includes Peace of Mind: Acoustic and Peace of Mind: Dub. The record marks the band’s highest chart entry, reaching No. 13 on the Billboard Top 200, No. 1 on the Reggae chart, No. 1 on the Independent chart and No. 4 on the iTunes overall album chart. Before that, the band has four top 10 albums on the Reggae chart, and Bright Side of Life reaches No. 54 on the Top 200 and No. 1 on the Reggae chart in 2009.

Touring and live work

Rebelution tours extensively across the United States and also performs in South America and Europe. After the release of Peace of Mind, the band starts the Peace of Mind Tour and sells out venues including The Electric Factory in Philadelphia, The Hollywood Palladium, The Fillmore in Denver, The Fox Theater in Oakland and the Hard Rock in Orlando. The tour covers 42 cities. The band also supports O.A.R. on an amphitheatre tour, headlines four amphitheatres in Florida, and plays festivals and major live events including Outside Lands, Hangout, Forecastle, Summer Camp, Summer Set, The Allman Bro’s Peach Festival, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits. It also performs twice at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

Production and collaborators

Peace of Mind is the first Rebelution release to move beyond the band’s usual self-production. It includes work with Michael Goldwasser, Amp Live, Yeti Beats, Keith Armstrong and Errol Brown. Goldwasser is associated with Easy Star All-Stars, Amp Live with Zion-I, Yeti Beats with Kool Keith and George Clinton, and Errol Brown with Stephen, Ziggy, Damian and Bob Marley. The album’s sound ranges from strings on “Route Around” to guitar and synth-led arrangements on “Lady In White”.

Style and position

Rebelution is described as a grassroots, independent and tour-driven act. Its music is presented as hopeful and socially minded, with the band’s early work shaped in Isla Vista while the members were in college.