After a very successful inaugural year in 2015, The Blaze ‘N’ Glory music and lifestyle festival returned to the San Manuel Amphitheater festival grounds on Saturday June 4. Scaled back from two days to one day, the festival maintained a diverse lineup of artists featuring Stephen “Ragga” Marley, The Growlers, Common Kings, NAS, GRiZ and many more on two stages as well as an interactive vendor village, carnival rides, food trucks, Rockstar Energy Drink compound (with free energy drinks) and onsite camping.
The festival grounds had two stages (larger Blaze Stage and the smaller SRH Stage) which had the bands rotating between each stage and at times playing at the same time. With temperatures soaring to over 100 degrees and the beautiful California Mountains in the background, the smell of marijuana filled the air throughout the day and smoke clouds were abundant in the massive crowds of people gathered in front of each stage to enjoy the mixed bag of reggae, rap and alternative music.
Doors opened at 2:00pm with the music starting at 2:15pm until 11:00pm and the entire day was executed flawlessly which is no surprise as Blaze ‘N’ Glory is another creation of John Reese and SGE with publicity by Ashton-Magnuson Media and A12 Entertainment. Based on the success of Blaze ‘N’ Glory 2015 and 2016 it would only seem logical that this will continue to be an annual event.
NOTE: Due to the logistics of the stages and many bands starting their sets within 5 minutes of each other it became difficult to cover all bands on each stage. Also due to HEAVY traffic conditions and a highway closure, arrival at the festival was 60 minutes later than anticipated so the first few bands were regretfully missed. The highlights of Blaze ‘N’ Glory 2016 are below:
*** Blaze Stage ***
GRiZ
GRiZ (real name Grant Kwiecinski) closed out the 2016 Blaze ‘N’ Glory festival as the DJ and electronic producer kicked out some serious funk and electro-soul jams that he is best known for. In addition to working his computer and controllers, he would play the saxophone on top of the thumping music as he pranced about the stage. The crowd now several hours into the festival somehow was bouncing and waving their hands like it was the first band of the day.
Nas
Often named as one of the greatest hip hop artists, rapper Nas drew the largest and loudest crowd of the day. With ten albums to draw from, Nas slayed the crowd for 60 minutes with his lyrical madness as he prowled back and forth across the stage. Nas gave a shout out to the legacy of Prince as well as acknowledging the passing of Muhammad Ali at one point in between songs. At the end of the set, the rapper did not want to stop playing and continue on but the schedule and curfew restrictions prevented that as he reluctantly left the stage.
Atmosphere
Veteran Minneapolis, Minnesota based hip hop duo Atmosphere consisting of rapper Slug (Sean Daley) and DJ/producer Ant (Anthony Davis) got the crowd going with their non-stop beats and rhymes.
The Growlers
Southern California’s The Growlers drew a large crowd as they changed up the pace a bit with their signature Beach Goth sound based on 60’s psychedelic rock. Although it was 100 degrees out, vocalist Brooks Nielsen sported a black knit beanie as he romped about the stage. Definitely a fan favorite especially with the younger crowd.
Stephen “Ragga” Marley
Without a doubt, the highlight of the day was six time Grammy winner Stephen “Ragga” Marley. The Jamaican reggae musician, son of the late Bob Marley put on a traditional reggae show that featured his popular single “No Cigarette Smoking (In My Room)” and a cover of his father’s reggae classic “Jammin”. In the midst of a massive summer tour, Marley is set to release his fourth studio album Revelation Part II: The Fruit of Life in July.
Prof
American rapper, singer, and songwriter Jacob Anderson better known as Prof hit the stage in late afternoon at the peak of the heat and delivered a colorful set of rap songs and had the crowd extremely engaged in his in between song stories.
Hirie
Playing Blaze ‘N’ Glory for the second year in a row, the female fronted Hirie led by vocalist and guitarist Hirie moved from the smaller stage to the large stage this year. Hirie drew a large crowd early in the afternoon as the band played a roots-reggae set filled with everything to make you wave your hands, dance and take a few puffs.
*** SRH Stage ***
Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds
Labeled as a fusion of rock, reggae, ska punk, surf rock, hip hop and blues, Hermosa Beach’s Tomorrow’s Bad Seeds put on a high energy set that featured a few friends of the band lighting up on stage and even handing out glass “smoking paraphernalia” to fans in the front row.
<img width="150" height="150" src="http://socalmusictoday.com/wp-content/uploads/20