Rebelution

Santa Barbara's laid-back pride and joy, Rebelution have made a name for themselves the old-fashioned way: by working for it. The group met back in 2004 while attending U.C. Santa Barbara and living in Isla Vista, a Santa Barbara beach neighborhood that's equally steeped in reggae and surfboarders. The band took up reggae, playing songs penned primarily by lead singer and guitarist Eric Rachmany, and hewed to a vintage sound that was immensely appealing to friends and schoolmates. With the release of an EP and consistent gigging, the crew developed a following that snowballed in size, until they found themselves playing to thousands on some nights. Their reputation continues to spread primarily by word of mouth. They dropped their debut, Courage to Grow, in 2007, to accolades; Bright Side of Life followed two years later. As if that weren't enough, their third LP, Peace of Mind released in 2012 with a new acoustic sound and an even higher chart debut! Rebelution's 2014 release Count Me In, debuted on the Billboard Top 200 at #14 and marked the band’s third consecutive #1 Reggae album. Still, at heart, the story of Rebelution is a pretty easy one to understand. As the band embarks on its second decade, Eric explains, “Rebelution is a great example of four friends who got together to play music for the fun of it, and still do that today. We just play music that we really enjoy.”