California Roots Music Festival Is One of World's Largest Reggae Events - the Secret Behind the Success

It happened here: the first major appearances of Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding and more. No we're not talking about Woodstock. Before Woodstock. In a quiet seaside town known more for sardines than kissing the sky.

Monterey, California.

The Monterey Pop Festival was a sold-out music event in June 1967. Among the notables already mentioned there was also Jefferson Airplane. It was a hippy meets the sea occasion.

So it goes without saying that Monterey is fertile ground for new music. Now some 40 years later this city hosts the California Roots Music and Arts Festival.

One of the world's largest reggae-centric (with rap tossed in) events features some known and up and coming musicians and artists including Slightly Stoopid, The Roots, Cypress Hill, and Soja.

These voices of today's era take the stage May 22-24, Memorial Day Weekend, gracing the same stages that Hendrix and the Who once rocked.

The circle of music life.

I chatted with California Roots head honcho Dan Sheehan about the Festival and the bigger theme it has of positive vibes for people and the planet. Grab a cup of herbal green tea and chill. Here's the audio: