The Lions: Local Band We Love (at Zanzibar Tonight!)
From KCRW DJ Aaron Byrd: The Lions formed haphazardly during a jam session. Their initial intention was to lay down some Jamaican tunes, but they felt inspired to continue their…
By Aaron Byrd • • 1 min readFrom KCRW DJ Aaron Byrd:
The Lions formed haphazardly during a jam session. Their initial intention was to lay down some Jamaican tunes, but they felt inspired to continue their experiment into a full-fledged reggae revival movement.
The Lions are a true super group indeed, comprised of musicians from such groups as Breakestra, Connie Price & The Keystones, Plant Life, Hepcat, among others.
Straight out of Los Angeles, their music truly represents the global city that us Angelenos call home. Although their soul-infused dubbed out sounds are what they’re known for, they also incorporate global rhythms ranging from Colombia to Ethiopia.
The Lions have played alongside Fat Freddy’s Drop, Antibalas, The Aggrolites and many other heavy hitters. They have one full length to date, Jungle Struttin,’ that was released on Ubiquity records in 2008 and found heavy rotation on KCRW. It even made a few DJs top 10 lists. They are currently finishing up the final touches on their second full length and both the city and reggae enthusiasts are in high anticipation.
Although they have performed in several local festivals and opened up for many other groups around town, it’s rare that the 13-piece ensemble have the stage all to themselves BUT that’s exactly what they’ll have on Wednesday August. 11 at Zanzibar in Santa Monica. Doors open at 9pm and tickets are available in advance until 5pm today for $10. Then you can pick them up at the door for $15.
See you there!
–Aaron Byrd