Driven by a soundtrack of reggae, rock, ska and hip-hop music, Goldenvoice’s Cali Vibes Festival returns to Long Beach for a three-day celebration of beach and island culture.
With the ocean on one side and downtown Long Beach on the other, the third annual Cali Vibes Festival is set to make a big splash when it hits Marina Green Park on Feb. 16-18 with its three stages of music and a very special performance by No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani.
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Friday, Feb. 16 will include sets by Stick Figure, Damian Jr. Gong & Stephen Marley, Iration, Shaggy, Common Kings and more. Stefani will be joined by Slightly Stoopid, Sublime with Rome, Wiz Khalifa, Sean Paul, The Interrupters and more on Saturday, Feb. 17; and Rebelution will close out the festivities with Ice Cube, The Roots, Kolohe Kai, Soja, J Boog, Too Short and others.
“We couldn’t be happier with this lineup,” said Nic Adler, vice president of festivals at Goldenvoice. And it’s the vibes these bands will create that makes this particular event a special one for Adler.
“I love music, but what’s more important is the people that come to this festival. I love people having a good time and when I see people here smiling and dancing to this music, that’s my happy place,” he added.
While Stick Figure headlines the main Vibes Stage on Friday, veteran reggae singer and rapper Shaggy closes the night out over on the Greens Stage. Shaggy, a Jamaican-born artist who is known for hits such as “Boombastic,” “It Wasn’t Me” and “Angel,” said he feels right at home on this lineup.
“It’s a good vibe and it’s great to be a part of it and bring our style to it,” Shaggy said during a phone interview while on tour in Australia. “It’s one of those festivals that really represents the culture and I’m happy to see more and more Jamaican artists getting involved in it as it goes every year.”
With decades of music behind him Shaggy said he planning to deliver a hit-filled set during his turn.
“We have an extensive catalog that people know, so the possibilities are endless,” he teased.
While the lineup for all three days is star-filled, Saturday’s show will likely be the highlight for many since the main stage closing acts include Sublime with Rome playing one of its final shows with vocalist-guitarist Rome Ramirez and the band’s album “40 Oz. to Freedom” in full, followed by Ocean Beach group Slightly Stoopid, who are just ahead of Stefani’s closing set.
“They just keep bringing stacked lineups back and it’s been so amazing,” said Slightly Stoopid co-frontman Miles Doughty, who has performed at Cali Vibes every year since the start. “What I like is that they bring so many cultures together when it comes to music. You have hip-hop, reggae, the in between, the rock. I really love how they bring that all together.”
This year marks Slightly Stoopid’s 30th anniversary and they just released a new song,” Got Me On The Run” with Kaleo Kalani Wassman, lead singer and guitarist of the band Pepper, and guitarist Scott Woodruff of Stick Figure. Later this year, the band will be releasing its first new record since 2018, so Doughty is promising a special performance at Cali Vibes to celebrate both the new music and milestone anniversary.
“We got some insane special guests rolling. I’m not going to say who they are because I want it to be a surprise for the fans,” he said.
Meanwhile, Stefani has been teasing something “very special” for her Cali Vibes stint on her social media platforms, too. It’s highly unlikely that Goldenvoice would use this show to jump the gun on the No Doubt reunion slated for its two weekend, three-day Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festivals in Indio in April, but anything is possible.
For Adler, bands like No Doubt, as well as Sublime, laid the foundation for many of the bands performing at Cali Vibes like Slightly Stoopid, Stick Figure, Iration, Rebelution and others.
“To have Gwen sit atop of this poster, I think it shows how far this scene has come and also goes back in time a little to experience where this whole scene came from,” Adler said.
But, will there be a sneak peek of No Doubt at Cali Vibes?
“My wish is your wish. Of course we would be blown away. But I live in reality,” Adler said. “I think we’ll have to let that sit there and if something happens it happens. I’m excited to see Gwen.”
While there are many veteran acts anchoring the festival, this event is also about the future of reggae and other Caribbean music, which it highlights with the BoomYard Stage that was created to give locals a taste of what’s happening with island music today.
“To me this stage is the foundation of Cali Vibes,” Adler said. “It might not be names you hear about every day, it may not be the headliners of the show, but it is the DNA of this show. It comes from the street, the alleyways of Jamaica and the Caribbean.”
Since 2023 marked the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, Cali Vibes is acknowledging that milestone with sets by Ice Cube, Wiz Khalifa, The Roots, The Pharcyde, Too Short and Action Bronson throughout the weekend, too.
“A lot of us grew up with hip-hop evolving to where it is today,” Adler said. “To be able to watch Ice Cube who literally made the Southern California scene, is epic.”
Cali Vibes
When: Noon Friday, Feb. 16-Sunday, Feb. 18
Where: Marina Green Park, 400 E. Shoreline Drive, Long Beach
Tickets: Three-day general admission starts at $330 and $515 for three-day VIP admission; single-day general admission starts at $150 and single-day VIP admission starts at $225. All passes are on sale now at calivibesfest.com.
