Reggae Runnings Near and Far

Bay Area sound clash fans have a lot to soak up in June.

June 5 Kilimanjaro Sound from Jamaica will be at Oakland's Karibbean City, located at 1408 Webster, downtown Oakland.

Rory from Stone Love and David Rodigan will both be at Sierra Nevada World Music Festival in Boonville, June 18-20.

Then June 24 Bay locals go head-to-head in a new series not surprisingly called Soundclash at Rockit Room, 406 Clement Street in San Francisco's inner Richmond neighborhood The first installment features KMEL's Mind Motion versus Beat Junkies and Skratch Piklz legend Shortkut. Should be interesting as both these DJs know how to mix and juggle tunes like the pros they are.

Virgin Islands has recently become a new hotspot for reggae talent, thanks to the pioneering efforts of the St. Croix band Midnite and label I-Grade Records. Two new stars from this scene are Niyorah, who releases his new album on Denkenesh Records, Feel Your Presence in June and I-Grade's soulful crooner Toussaint, whose album Black Gold drops in August. From the Soul of the Lion press release:

Denkenesh Records is teaming up with I Grade (known for setting a new standard in reggae music Midnite, Dezarie, Pressure, Niyorah) to add to its game changing approach. Whether it is Toussaint's unique soulful mix of R&B and roots, or Niyorah's conscious dread and righteousness, reggae, urban and soul music fans everywhere will be asking for more. The physical and digital release of Niyorah's album, Feel Your Presence, is scheduled for June 2010 and Toussaint's Black Gold in August 2010.

Other new releases coming this summer include Capleton's I-Ternal Fire (July 6) and Busy Signal's D.O.B. (July 11) both on VP Records.

Speaking of VP, Luciano's brilliant new album is also on the horizon, but no release date set. Here's a preview though, a new song called "Moving On," riding the original Treasure Isle version of the Paragon's "Only A Smile."