Rebelution is a

reggae rock Reggae rock is a subgenre of reggae fusion and rock music that primarily uses the genres reggae, rock, and ska. Typical lyrics of reggae rock songs incorporate love, personal awareness, and life challenges while incorporating music and beat el ...

music band formed in

Isla Vista, California Isla Vista is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Barbara County, California in the United States. As of 2020 census, the community had a population of 15,500. The majority of residents are college students at ...

. The current members of Rebelution are Eric Rachmany, Rory Carey, Marley D. Williams, and Wesley Finley. Each member attended and completed school at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...

History

Formation and ''Courage to Grow'' (2004–2007)

Rebelution was formed in the college town of

, in 2004. The five original band members were Eric Rachmany, Matt Velasquez, Rory Carey, Marley D. Williams, and Wesley Finley, who were all

students. Throughout 2004–2005, Rebelution began to build momentum through consistently playing local shows and by independently releasing an EP. All four current members graduated from

UC Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

, getting degrees in religious studies (Rachmany), anthropology (Finley), film studies (Williams), and business economics (Carey). Rebelution released their first full-length album ''

Courage to Grow ''Courage to Grow'' is the debut album by Rebelution, a reggae band from Santa Barbara, CA. It was released on June 8, 2007, and reached the number 4 position in the Billboard Reggae Album chart. Track listing Credits ;Performers *Eric Ra ...

'' on June 8, 2007, which would become the breakthrough album for the band. The album was praised for its crafty melodies, socially conscious lyrics, and savvy musicianship. ''Courage to Grow'' went on to garner mass downloads and radio play on stations such as San Francisco's

Live 105 Kits may refer to: * Kitsilano, a neighbourhood of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada *Kits, an American taffy candy made by Gilliam Candy Company *KITS, a San Francisco, California radio station *Kottayam Institute of Technology & Sci ...

where their single "Safe and Sound" was played on heavy rotation, with spins on San Diego's

91X XETRA-FM (91.1 MHz), branded as 91X, and sometimes identified as XTRA-FM, is an English-language radio station licensed to Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. It airs an alternative rock radio format. The studios and offices are on Cornerstone Cour ...

and Los Angeles's

KROQ KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The st ...

. The album was selected as iTunes Editor's Choice for Best Reggae Album of 2007. In addition, ''Courage to Grow'' peaked at #4 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''Top Reggae Albums'' chart. However, Velasquez, one of the two vocalists, left after the release of ''Courage to Grow'' because of growing tired from the rigorous touring lifestyle, and left Rebelution as a four-member band.

''Bright Side of Life'' (2009)

Two years after their first album, Rebelution released their second full-length album '' Bright Side of Life''. On August 4, 2009 ''Bright Side of Life'' was officially released and dominated the iTunes charts, reaching the #1 spot on iTunes in the Reggae music genre, and the #3 spot for Top Albums Downloaded in the United States in all genres of music. The album also reached #1 on the Billboard ''Top Reggae Albums'' chart and #54 on ''Billboard''s Top 200. The release of '' Bright Side of Life'' marks the first release under Rebelution's newly founded record label "87 Music" (named after their address while attending college at

UCSB The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

: 6587 Del Playa Drive. The band played at the 2009 Harmony Festival, and also at the

Rothbury Music Festival Electric Forest is a multi-genre music festival produced by Madison House Presents and Insomniac Events with a focus on electronic music and jam band genres. Original named Rothbury Festival in 2008, it is held in Rothbury, Michigan at the ...

in the Summer of 2009. Rebelution performed at the 2010 Harmony Festival in

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area ...

along with other well-known acts such as The Expendables,

Slightly Stoopid Slightly Stoopid is an American band based in the Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Diego, California, who describe their music as "a fusion of folk, rock, reggae and blues with hip-hop, funk, metal and punk." As a band, they have released thirt ...

and

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...

. They also performed at

All Good Music Festival The All Good Music Festival and Camp Out was a weekend-long event held annually in July. Since its inception in 1997, it had been held at venues along the Mid-Atlantic, including Trip's Farm (Terra Alta) Masontown, West Virginia, Brandywine, Mar ...

Bonnaroo The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a farm in M ...

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American live music television program recorded and produced by Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", and is the only television show t ...

and

Wakarusa music festival Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival was a four-day music festival held annually in early June from 2004 to 2015 at Mulberry Mountain near Ozark, Arkansas. Named for the Wakarusa River, the festival was first held at Clinton State Park immediately ...

s in 2010.

''Peace of Mind'' (2012)

On January 10, 2012, Rebelution released their third studio album, '' Peace Of Mind'', through their own label 87 Music. ''Peace of Mind: Acoustic'' features all twelve original album tracks stripped-down acoustic as well as ''Peace of Mind: Dub'' remixed by Easy Star's Michael Goldwasser (''Dub Side of The Moon'', ''Radiodread'', ''Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band''). The album debuted at #13 on the ''Billboard'' 200 charts, #1 Independent and #1 Reggae Albums, and also the #4 iTunes album overall,Jackson, Kevin (2014)
Rebelution on Top
, ''

Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner''. Its founding editor i ...

'', 20 June 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014 selling 16,000 copies its first week, despite giving away half the album free to their fans over the six weeks prior to release.

''Count Me In'' (2014)

In May 2014, Rebelution performed as a headlining act at the

California Roots Music and Arts Festival The California Roots Music and Art Festival (Cali Roots) is an American annual music and art festival, featuring reggae, reggae rock, folk, hip hop acts and live painting on-stage. The festival was founded in 2010 and is held at the Monterey ...

Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...

. The band partnered with

Easy Star Records Easy Star Records is an American independent record label founded in 1996. Based in New York City, the label primarily produces and releases albums in the genres of reggae and dub. The label has had multiple albums chart at No. 1 on the ''Bill ...

to release their fourth album '' Count Me In'' features contributions from

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Friedri ...

and

Collie Buddz Colin Patrick Harper (born August 21, 1981), better known by his stage name Collie Buddz, is a Bermudian reggae artist best known for his single "Come Around". Career Although Harper was born in New Dadyal Hospital, AJK. He studied audio enginee ...

on June 10, 2014. It debuted as the #14 album on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

albums chart and the #1 Billboard Reggae album. Following the album's release, Rebelution went on the Count Me In tour with supporting acts

Iration Iration is a reggae/pop group from Santa Barbara, California. All members originally hail from Hawaii. They play a mix of reggae, dub, pop, and rock. The group is one of the leading bands in the genre of sunshine reggae. History Formation and ...

, The Green, and

Stick Figure A stick figure, also known as a stickman, is a very simple drawing of a person or an animal, composed of a few lines, curves, and dots. On a stick figure, the head is most often represented by a circle, which can be either a solid color or som ...

. In September 2014, the band performed as a headlining act at California Roots and The Carolina Sessions Festival, as well as The Reggae Rise Up Festival in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, which has quickly become one of the largest and respected Reggae festivals in the country. In December 2014, ''Count Me In'' was named as the best-selling reggae album of the year by ''Billboard''. An acoustic version of the album was released in 2015 and again topped the ''Billboard'' Reggae chart.

''Falling Into Place'' (2016)

On June 3, 2016, the band released their fifth studio album '' Falling Into Place'' as a joint venture with Easy Star Records. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Reggae chart, and remained on the chart for more than 60 weeks. It also was #32 on Billboard's Top 200.

''Free Rein'' (2018)

On June 15, 2018, the band released their sixth studio album ''

Free Rein ''Free Rein'' is a British drama television series created and written by Vicki Lutas and Anna McCleery. It stars Jaylen Barron, Navia Robinson (seasons 1-2) and Freddy Carter. Produced in the UK by Lime Pictures, the ten-part first series prem ...

'' which included collaborations with acclaimed Jamaican producers Don Corleon and Winta James. ''Free Rein'', and their 2019 ''Vinyl Box Set'' both reached #1 on the ''Billboard'' Top Reggae Albums chart. ''Free Rein'' also made it to #41 on Billboard's Top 200 chart.

''The Dub Collection'' (2020)

Instead of creating a dub version of ''Free Rein'', Rachmany wanted to reward fans by releasing a whole new dub album. On July 17, 2020, Rebelution released ''The Dub Collection'' which was mixed by the band's current lead touring guitarist Kyle Ahern who previously won their "Jam With The Band" contest. The album features

dub music Dub is an electronic musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style.Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican re ...

versions of Rebelution's early material. It includes three "fan-favorite" songs from each of their studio albums. The album reached #8 on the Billboard Top Reggae Album charts.

''In The Moment'' (2021)

Rebelution has announced their seventh studio album titled, ''In The Moment'', which was released on June 18, 2021 through 87 Music and

. The album includes 15 tracks (with an acoustic version of one of their songs, "To Be Younger"). It features guest appearances by Jamaican reggae artists Keznamdi, Kabaka Pyramid, and

Busy Signal Reanno Devon Gordon (born 24 January 1979), better known by his stage name Busy Signal, is a Jamaican dancehall reggae artist. Biography Reanno Devon Gordon p/k/a Busy Signal was born in Saint Ann Parish,Johnson, Carolyn (2006)A Very Busy Chil ...

, American soul singer

Durand Jones Durand Jones & The Indications is an American contemporary R&B and soul group founded by the core songwriting trio of singer Durand Jones, singer/drummer Aaron Frazer, and guitarist Blake Rhein. Formed in 2012, the band came to prominence as par ...

, and The Indications. The album was produced and coordinated by their own touring guitarist Kyle Ahern. ''In The Moment'' debuted at #2 on the

Reggae Albums chart and #36 on Independent Albums chart. It also debuted at #22 on Billboard's Current Albums Sales chart, and #35 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart. On May 20, 2022, Rebelution released a their second live album, titled ''Live in St. Augustine'', which was recorded during sold-out 2021 live performance of their 23-song set at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre in St. Augustine, Florida

Other projects

Rebelution worked with Florida-based breweries Rock Brothers Brewing and Cigar City Brewing to create Rebelution

IPA IPA commonly refers to: * India pale ale, a style of beer * International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of phonetic notation * Isopropyl alcohol, a chemical compound IPA may also refer to: Organizations International * Insolvency Practitioners ...

in Summer 2016. In 2018, the band partnered with Lost Abby & The Hop Concept to create "Take On Anything" IPA, which is available in stores across California and online. In addition, Rebelution teamed up with FlavRx to release all-natural cannabis oil cartridges in two strains – Sour Tsunami Sativa and Cali-O Indica, as well as a customized oil battery pen and herb vaporizer. These products are available in select dispensaries in California which carry Flavrx products, with distribution growing to other legal states shortly. The band will be donating a portion of all proceeds towards Cannabis related medical research and legalization organizations.

Awards and honors

After its debut album was one of the most downloaded reggae albums on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

, Rebelution's ''

'' was named the iTunes Editors Choice: Best Reggae Album 2007. Rebelution received their first ''Grammy'' nomination in 2017 when their album ''Falling Into Place'' was nominated for the "Best Reggae Album" award. In December 2021, Rebelution was nominated for the fans-choice "2021 Album of the Year" award by '' Surf Roots TV & Radio'' for their album ''In The Moment''. Voting was determined by

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

and

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

users. This was the band's first time being nominated with the reggae rock streaming TV channel on

Amazon Fire TV Amazon Fire TV (stylized as amazon fireTV) is a line of digital media players and microconsoles developed by Amazon. The devices are small network appliances that deliver digital audio and video content streamed via the Internet to a connecte ...

Apple TV An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

, and

Roku Roku ( ) is a brand of hardware digital media players manufactured by American company Roku, Inc. They offer access to streaming media content from online services. The first Roku model, developed in collaboration with Netflix, was introduce ...

Lineup

Current members * Eric Rachmany – Vocals, Guitar, Songwriter (2004–present) * Rory Carey – Keyboards (2004–present) * Marley D. Williams – Bass (2004–present) * Wesley Finley – Drums (2004–present) Touring members * Zach Meyerowitz – Trumpet (2014–present) * Kyle Ahern – Guitar (2016–present) * Eric Hirschhorn – Saxophone (2018–present) Former members * Matt Velasquez – Vocals, Guitar, Songwriter (2004–2007) Former touring members * Khris Royal – Saxophone (2011–2014) * Mike Eyia – Saxophone (2014–2018) *passed away in February 2018.

Discography

Studio albums

EPs/Live albums

Dub albums

Acoustic albums

Singles

Compilations

*''Rebelution Vinyl Box Set'' (2019)

Collaborations

Rebelution (Eric Rachmany) has collaborated or was featured on songs with artists and bands throughout the years. *

Zion I Zion I was an American hip hop project founded by MC and producer Baba Zumbi (real name Stephen Gaines) in Oakland, California. K-Genius and Amp Live were also project members. Career Originally formed as a group, Zion I released the debut s ...

– "Many Stylez" (2010) *

I Wayne I Wayne, Rastafarian stage name for Cliffroy Taylor (born September 13, 1980 in Portmore, Jamaica), is a roots reggae singer. He is known for his hit singles " Living In Love" and " Can't Satisfy Her" from his debut album, '' Lava Ground''. ...

– "So High" (2011) *

Tribal Seeds Tribal Seeds is an American reggae band based in San Diego that was formed in 2005 by the Jacobo brothers, singer Steven Rene and producer Tony-Ray. Biography Formation (2003–2005) From San Diego, California, award-winning reggae group Trib ...

– "Soundwaves" (2011) * Thrive – "Just Fine" (2013) *

Amp Live Amp Live is an American alternative hip hop producer and DJ from California. He was one half of the duo Zion I, but left the group in 2015 amicably. He has remixed works by Radiohead, Tokyo Police Club and Jamie Lidell. Life and career Born and ...

– "Signs" (2014) * MAAD T-RAY – "Don't Stress No One" (2015) *

– "Mind Block" (2015) *

Through The Roots Through The Roots is an American reggae rock and pop band based out of San Diego, California. They are described as "easy-listening music with positive Cali-vibes and inspiring messages". History Formation (2007–2008) Through The Roots (or TT ...

– "Bear With Me" (2015) *

Morgan Heritage Morgan Heritage is a Grammy-winning Jamaican reggae band formed in 1994 by five children of reggae artist Denroy Morgan, namely Peter "Peetah" Morgan, Una Morgan, Roy "Gramps" Morgan, Nakhamyah "Lukes" Morgan, and Memmalatel "Mr. Mojo" Morgan. ...

– "Wanna Be Loved" (2016) * The Expendables – "Stay Now" (2017) * HIRIE – "Sun and Shine" (2017) * The Green – "Good Feeling" (2017) * Ballyhoo! – "Let Her Go" (feat.

Reel Big Fish Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Orange County, California. The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold-certified album ''Turn the Radio Off''. Soon af ...

) (2018) **"This Chick Is Wack" (2020) * Kyle Ahern – "Good Will Come" (2018) * Arise Roots – "Come And Get It" (feat.

) (2019) *

– "Right Here Right Now" (feat.

) (2020) * Sun Dried Vibes – "Smoke Session" (feat. Jeremy Anderson of Treehouse!) (2020) * SOJA – "The Day You Came" (feat.

Ali Campbell Alistair Ian Campbell (born 15 February 1959) is an English singer and songwriter who was lead singer of the British reggae band UB40. As part of UB40, Campbell sold over 70 million records worldwide and toured the globe for 30 years. In 2008, C ...

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the ...

) (2021)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rebelution (Band) Musical groups from California Musical groups established in 2004 American reggae musical groups Musicians from Santa Barbara, California Reggae rock groups University of California, Santa Barbara alumni