Rise Up is a Reggae band hailing from various areas of the Monterey Peninsula and Bay Area, CA. Gaining a reputation for their energetic and Rootsy live performances, their sound is aptly described as “a smoky blend of roots reggae with California attitude for a style that falls closer to Bob Marley than Sublime. In other words, Genuine Reggae.” (Matt Weir, Good Times Santa Cruz)

After originally forming just to fill a spot for a local benefit show, Rise Up has gone on to release two studio EPs with renowned producer and musician EN Young (formerly of Tribal Seeds) on Roots Musician Records. Lion Roar featured the song “Rebel Souljahs” which has gone on to reach more than 70,000 plays on the popular Reggae YouTube Channel High Stereo Love, as well as making the rotation on Cali Roots Radio selected by Rebelution Lead Singer Eric Rachmany. The band later released a 5-song EP The Pursuit, which garnered overwhelming positive buzz leading to feature articles in Irie Magazine, Top Shelf Music Magazine, Top Rankin’ Music Magazine, etc. The band also released a Dub EP titled Smoke Break: Rise Up Meets Jahmadeus, and numerous singles, most recently “Once So Natural” in Dec 2024, respectively.  

Rise Up has earned the opportunity to share stages in the past with some of the Jamaican Legends of Reggae music including The Wailing Souls, The Meditations, The Itals, Winston Jarrett, Half Pint, etc.; as well as modern heavyweights of the genre such as Arise Roots, Eli-Mac, The Expendables, Josh Heinrichs, etc. The band has performed at high profile venues such as Cornerstone Berkeley (Berkely, CA), The Catalyst (Santa Cruz, CA), and Moe’s Alley (Santa Cruz, CA)

Rise Up is poised to push forward and bring their unique brand of Roots Rock Reggae music to the masses in 2025 and beyond.