 "Photo: Christine Hernandez / Daily 49er")
The reggae caravan rolled into the Long Beach Arena on a warm, winter Saturday for a two-day event.
Posters of lions, Bob Marley silhouettes and Jamaican flags decorated the trunks of trees and plain walls of buildings. Cultural music pounded, the fierce smell of charcoaled beef and vegetables lingered in the air and vendors started to put up their shanties.
Outside the arena, on Feb. 20 and 21, some spectators donned their flashy silk shirts with imprinted Marley graphics, while others wore a mix of green, red and yellow. Some even braved the attitude T-shirts with the phrases "Legalize it" and "Got Marijuana?"
The smell, sound and exciting atmosphere of the 29th Annual Ragga Muffins Festival grew as the hour of commencement drew nearer.
Finally at 1 p.m., the doors opened. Event-goers with tickets rushed in, people without their stubs waited at the ticket booth, and scalpers shouted out the occasional "Tickets, you need tickets!?" as new waves of attendees made their way up to the festival gates.
Indoors, the souvenir stand embellished with official festival shirts, CDs and other knickknacks. Radio stations KROQ and KJLH entertained fans inside the lobby. Just down one of the halls, past the The Kobbler King stand, a man at his House of Pistachios stand shouted "Try my nuts!" as he handed out free samples.
Out in the patio, spectators made their way to various international food shacks, shelling out up to $5 dollars for a churro and $13 for a meal with small portions.
Inside the concert hall, MC Amlak Tafari stepped onto the stage and said to the scattered crowd, "Greetings! Are you ready to go to Africa?"
The audience whooped, and with that, the Mystic Roots Band took center stage.
The show started off slow. Fans stood with their hands in their pockets, a few slugged back Heinekens, others sipped on lemonade and a couple of heads bobbed. Not even the battle-of-the-beats competition between the band's drummer and beat-boxer startled the audience to a full-on awakening.
One band later, Bajah + The Drew Eye Crew, revved up the crowd. Once vocalist Gramps Morgan grabbed hold of the mic, people raised their arms and wailed them from side-to-side and their bodies swayed to the reggae sound of the heavy drum bass and saxophone.
"The most wonderful thing in this world is L-O-V-E," Morgan said as his show drew to a close. "If you believe in this, say RASTA!"
Morgan taught the audience a few lyrics to his new song and encouraged the audience to sing along to the words, "Jah shall wash away all the tears."
Members of the audience blew clouds of smoke into the atmosphere and the smell of weed prevailed as the night continued. People started to feel more comfortable and a woman even set up her perimeter by dancing as though engulfed by a spirit.
By the time Yellowman ended his 40-minute show, less people took breaks and instead awaited the anticipated artists of the night: Don Carlos, The Dirty Heads and Shaggy.
Day two of the festival picked up where day one left off.
This time around, it didn't take long for the audience's energy to fill up the concert hall.
As soon as the MC introduced the first band, The Lions, the crowd cheered. The stylish all-star band from Los Angeles gave off good vibes and got the crowd jumping, swaying and applauding as the band segued from one song to the next. As the opening act, The Lions set the mood for the great line-up that included The Aggrolites and Barrington Levy.
As the night drew to a close, attendees made their way to the nearest exit. Once the vendors picked up their belongings and musicians collected their stage gear, the caravan was loaded and ready to spread Marley's "One-Love" message elsewhere.
The festival celebrated Marley's birthday and reminded the audience about the essence of reggae music.
"It's about passing the right message to the whole wide world," said Bajah from Bajah + The Drew Eye Crew. "Much love and respect to the fullest. Peace is what we want all over the world. We're all on the same train and love is the answer."
"Music is not a tool to bring violence," Yellowman said. "It's an international language of no racial barrier. There's music for everything. Music to play basketball, music for your digestion and reggae music is the art for everyday."
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