For two years running, LBP productions have presented the Higher Grounds Music Festival in Pozo, California, a little town outside of Santa Margarita. The concert, held around April 20th each year, features around eight performers at the Pozo Saloon. The facility is known for holding wedding ceremonies and small parties, but the property opens up in the back. At the venue, a large grassy area surrounded by large oaks makes it a great place to host outdoor concerts and festivals. Pozo is not the first place that comes to mind when you hear of a local reggae festival, but this event has had some pretty big names in the past. Appearances from Warren G, Tech N9ne, Wiz Khalifa and Iration have made this festival more and more popular each year. This year, the Santa Barbara based reggae group Rebelution was the headliner, as well as the Los Angeles local rap group Cypress Hill. The original line up included Hawaiian reggae band The Green and classic West Coast rapper Nipsey Hussle; unfortunately, the line up changed and they did not perform. However, Stick Figure, another well-known reggae band, performed in The Green’s spot.
The festival is a preferable mix of reggae and hip -hop and some of the other artists that performed were Tribal Seeds, Juicy J and Ty Dolla $ign. Tribal Seeds is a reggae band based out of San Diego known for their rock vibe that is infused with a roots style of reggae. Many people may not know Juicy J to be much of a solo artist, as most of his songs have featured artists like Lil Wayne or B.o.b, however, he rose to fame as a member of Three 6 Mafia. Ty Dolla $ign is a rap artist from the L.A area who also performed. He is a songwriter and producer who collaborated with B.o.b, Young Jeezy and Wiz Khalifa. The popular party song “Paranoid” may sound familiar!
At the concert, the weather could not have been more perfect — a high around 80 degrees! Crowds were constantly gathered between two stages, as performers switched off throughout the day. There were plenty of options for food, ranging from BBQ chicken sandwiches to vegan curry wraps. However, all of the food trucks and merchandise tables took cash only, so the line for the ATM was continuous. The sound system started having malfunctions during Stick Figure’s performance and all sound was unfortunately completely cut off. Although these kinds of slips continued to happen throughout the day, (when it happened to Juicy J let’s just say he didn’t have very good things to say); the crowd seemed to grow larger and the venue was filled to the brim. After Cypress Hill left the stage, the headliner, Rebelution, was the final performance of the night. Some people left before and during the show, a day in the sun listening to music can be exhausting!
I would recommend this event to people who like their mix of popular hip-hop and reggae, yet if you prefer one over the other you might prefer to leave after your favorite artist is done performing. Overall, most of the performers did a great job, and you can always expect the headliner to give a great show! I will be going back next year to listen to another great line up!