With MGMT tonight and the Blues Festival on Sunday, just think how lovely Avila will be in the heart of summer, on the longest weekend day of the year (officially, the Solstice is on Monday, June 21st. Put your day off request in now). So what better way to spend the sunniest day than with sunny, vibrant music. The Summer Solstice Reggae Festival comes to Avila Beach Resort on Sunday, June 20th with Fat Freddy’s Drop, the Dirty Heads, Alborosie, Still Time and Top Shelf. Tickets are on-sale now, here at Boo Boo Records or through Vallitix on-line. But we’re offering you a chance to pencil in your calendar now by offering one lucky winner a pair of tickets. Hit more and scroll down to enter.

Fat Freddy’s Drop
They’ve dubbed themselves “hi-tek soul,” but Fat Freddy’s Drop — featuring producer and leader Fitchie, vocalist Joe Dukie, saxophonist Warren Maxwell, trumpeter Toby Laing, trombonist Joe Lindsay, guitarist Tehimana Kerr, and keyboardist Iain Gordon — could just as easily be considered a modern reggae band that incorporates soul and dub. Prior to releasing their first album, 2005’s Based on a True Story, they were already well-known in their native New Zealand; the album shipped gold and became the first independent release to reach number one on the country’s chart. By the end of the year, the band had left an impression in several other countries, including England, where listeners of Gilles Peterson’s BBC Worldwide program voted it as the Album of the Year. Lead singer Dallas Tamaira (aka Joe Dukie) has an airy, soulful voice that sometimes comes across like a more nimble version of Roland Gift’s falsetto, while the band can shift with equal agility between house, dancehall, funk, and one-drop grooves, sometimes within a single track. There album is a hoot and a triumph.

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