Buju Banton, The English Beat, Cornell Campbell +More Top SNWM Festival Lineup

The lineup for this year's Sierra Nevada World Music Festival looks pretty exciting, especially for Buju Banton fans. The singer/toaster is making a rare west coast appearance alongside other dancehall veterans like Cornell Campbell, Stone Love, David Rodigan, Yami Bolo, Prezident Brown and The Mighty Diamonds. The English Beat were just added, joining Michael Franti and Spearhead, The Wailing Souls, Rootz Underground, Rebelution, Alika, and many many moreThe event takes place during the Summer Solstice weekend of June 20-22 and this year is the 15th Anniversary of the music festival! It takes place in the home of Anderson Valley Brewing Company:That is, Anderson Valley of Boonville, California at the Mendocino County Fairgrounds. Full details here:http://www.snwmf.com/Following is a short bio about each of the artists scheduled to perform at the SNWMF 2008:

Buju Banton will make a rare West Coast appearance on SNWMF '08 as one of reggae's most dynamic performers and top-selling recording artists. Michael Franti & Spearhead bring the Bay Area roots to Sierra Nevada with their unique mix of socially-relevant root rock, hip-hop and reggae. Since their formation in Kingston's Trenchtown area in 1969, The Mighty Diamonds have represented the pinnacle of Jamaica's socially-conscious harmony groups. And the Waterhouse area of Kingston is represented by another chart-topping vocal group: The Wailing Souls. These are groups that have made appearances on the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival stages throughout the years and return this year in celebration of the Sierra Nevada tradition of representing the broad spectrum of reggae talent.

Reggae music from the Virgin Islands has become a feature of the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival lineup. Returning this year is the prolific Midnite from St. Croix, who have made numerous appearances at the festival and have become a highly-sought after group on stages worldwide with their mix of deep roots and relevant Rasta chants. Presenting reggae and world music in their varied forms is a tradition the festival upholds each year. This year SNWMF welcomes Maldita Vecindad from Mexico, a band whose blend of ska and Mexican folk sounds have earned them household name status in the "rock en-espanol" genre.

Sister Carol has a multi-faceted career as a recording and touring artist in the cultural reggae dance hall genre and as an actress, she tours regularly with the Yellow Wall Dub Squad. Also performing with the Bay Area-based Yellow Wall is conscious reggae artist Yami Bolo whose distinctive vocals carry the message of freedom for the world's less fortunate.

Each year the vintage reggae portion of the Sierra Nevada schedule reads like a who's who of performers and this year is no exception. Considered one of Jamaica's first rap stars, U-Roy helped start a style known as “toasting” or rapping over the rhythm versions of popular songs remixed by dub pioneer King Tubby which carried to New York and formed the genesis of modern hip-hop.

Returning to the 2008 festival is Cornel Campbell whose sweet falsetto ruled the charts beginning in the 1960's with Studio One and Duke Reid labels. Sunday afternoon features the "Return of the Legends" segment featuring Roy Shirley (responsible for the first Rocksteady-era song "Hold Them") soul man Pat Kelly and Stranger Cole (whose hit song "Bangarang" is emblematic of the urge for peace Jamaican society) all backed by the Los Angeles-based band, The Expanders.

Tosh Meets Marley is a an all-star grouping of musicians and singers some of whom originally recorded and toured with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. They include George "Fully" Fullwood an original bassist with Peter Tosh, Junior Marvin, lead guitarist with Bob Marley & the Wailers, Tony Chin, original "flyers" style rhythm guitarist who has played on several hit songs including those by Johnny Clarke and Dennis Brown. The group performs originals from these two legendary artists on stages worldwide.

A consistent principle of Sierra Nevada World Music Festival is the emphasis on the promotion of positive messages. Since his debut in 1988, Jamaica's Prezident Brown has remained one of the most interesting cultural performers because of this emphasis in his inspiring baritone-chanted lyrics.

Making his second appearance at SNWMF is Markus James whose group blends Blues with West African-stringed music in a collaboration with musicians from West Africa to explore the ancient roots of Blues music.