In a fitting end to an incredible weekend, Day Three of Cali Roots 2024 gave fans a full experience, including the highest of highs and the most tranquil community moments, all while providing the space for attendees to look within themselves and bring this energy home with them. The final day of the festivities proved to be everything and more than the illustrious lineup promised, as each act did their part in shouldering the responsibility of making this all happen.
Starting the day off on the Bowl stage, Northeast outfit Coyote Island delivered a set that demonstrated a great amount of passion and musicianship from the young artists. The band quickly won the crowd over in their Cali Roots debut, prompting a response from frontman Mike O’Hare, who remarked, “You have such a beautiful energy today.” While the set featured mostly rehearsed singles, they took some time to extemporize and truly have fun with their performance for a sizable portion of their show, in true jam band fashion.
An artist in many ways synonymous with the festival itself, Bermudian powerhouse Collie Buddz performed his annual midday set to a packed Bowl stage. For one hour every year, it feels as if the festival was named “Collie Roots,” as the artist puts the community on his back. Few people can claim to have done as much for this culture as Collie. His first performance at the Monterey Fairgrounds since earning a Grammy nomination for his “Cali Roots Riddim” album, he fortified the sense of unity throughout his set. From the moment he began his show with his 2017 hit “Good Life,” the audience was awestruck, and this feeling did not fade for a moment. In what has become an annual tradition for the artist, he picked up the dinner tab for his fans. As he began to perform “Take It Easy,” hundreds upon hundreds of pizzas were passed through the crowd in a sign of mutual respect and appreciation from the artist.
Playing penultimately on the Bowl stage, California icon and founding member of NWA, Ice Cube, performed to an equally packed crowd. Giant inflatable hands forming a “West side W” arose at each side of the stage as the artist appeared, joined onstage by longtime friend and collaborator WC. Arguably the rowdiest performance of the weekend, the high energy of the artist translated to the crowd, as not a single fan in attendance could help but dance along throughout the show. For a moment, time held no meaning, and viewers lost track of the day of the week as Ice Cube screamed, “It's motherfucking Friday!” loudly in WC’s ear as he began to perform his single “Friday.” Touting his accolades, he claimed his 1991 hit “No Vaseline” to be the greatest diss track of all time as he performed it with a level of intensity only he could. The set proved well-rounded with hits from his decades in music, including “You Can Do It,” “You Know How We Do It,” and “Check Yo Self.”
The weekend ended on a calm note as Cali Roots' in-house headliner Rebelution took the stage to close out the festivities. The show proved to be the perfect ending to an energy-consuming weekend, more relaxing than adrenaline-pumping. As a blanket of soft lights covered the audience, frontman Eric Rachmany walked onstage to begin their performance with their 2012 hit “Sky Is the Limit.” A full set that reflected the project’s tenure as performers, the band played a range of hits, including “Safe and Sound,” “Feeling Alright,” and “Lay My Claim.” Rachmany took a moment to address the audience and thanked the crowd for still bringing energy to the final performance of the weekend. The encore started softly and built from there. Beginning with a quiet acoustic rendition of their single “Honeypot,” which led into a sentimental cover of the band’s hit “Fade Away,” they finally cranked the energy as high as they could and finished the weekend with “De-Stress.” The set ended in celebration of the event and the performers as the band fired off confetti in commemoration of their drummer Wes’ birthday. Ending the weekend with festivities and not tears, fans exited the fairgrounds knowing that summer had officially begun and eager for the seasons to pass so they could come back and do it all again next year.
Check out more photos from Cali Roots Day Three.
