Frankie Tease Blog

Having been born and raised in Long Beach, I was in for a shock in returning that I hadn't prepared for. I knew things had changed, because friends and family had told me about raising rents (no rent control) and disappearing arts, music and culture. But I also found that the epic laid back attitude of Long Beach has also been challenged. Oh no... At its core my city is still as popular as ever for subversive counter-culture, (Snoop Dog, Sublime) skateboarding, water adventures, culinary delight, adult education, and festivals. And you cannot even mention Long Beach, without mentioning the Queen Mary , which has a hotel and events park that is beloved to locals and visitors alike. 

Left to right: Taylor, Evan, Budda of Through the Roots These last couple years have been fun for reggae. As I settled back into living in my hometown of Long Beach, California, I have found many great reggae shows including live dub, conscious, and roots music events . Many of you may not know but Long Beach (aka LBC: Long Beach California) was a mainstay of live reggae in the early 90's, birthed Sublime, and has always had a ton of islanders as its inhabitants. Lucky us. 

A review of Friday and Saturday One Love Cali Fest by Frankie Tease  One Love Cali Fest '17, Rebelution, One Love Stage Atmosphere Feb. 10-13 The One Love Cali Reggae Festival , in year two, (previously at OC Observatory Santa Ana) decided to bring the fest to Queen Mary Park in Long Beach, CA. There are a lot of notes on how the event could could be improved should it go forward into 2018 but I'd like to thank the organizer  Jeffrey Shuman  for his decision to move it to my home (native) city of Long Beach and to the Queen Mary Events Area.  Other iconic events have found a home there including: Shoreline Jam (#), Ink & Iron, Scots Festival and more. May the One Love Cali Reggae Festival run long.