Steel Pulse and Slightly Stoopid Headline June Show

By Madeline Ziecker

Steel Pulse band members David Hinds and Swlwyn Brown. Courtesy image.

The Republik Music Festival 2012 comes to Maui on Sunday, June 10 at the MACC at 3:45 p.m. with exciting reggae headliners Steel Pulse and Slightly Stoopid.

The second-annual festival also features performances from popular acts Alborosie, G. Love, and Gyptian.

Steel Pulse is the only reggae band to emerge from the UK who has won a Grammy Award. The band has had many circulating members, but they have always remained a cohesive powerhouse of really good roots reggae.

They’re currently working on a new album and a documentary of their long and impressive career, to be released later this year.

Slightly Stoopid is an American band based in San Diego, California. The group gained fame in 1995 when Bradley Nowell (original frontman of the legendary ska band Sublime) took them under his Skunk Records wing while they were still in high school.

They are known for their funky mix of  acoustic rock, blues, reggae, hip-hop, and ska, creating a sound of their own that continues to hook fans across the globe.

Slightly Stoopid courtesy photo.

The the common thread in this year’s Republik Music Festival performers of course is that they all incorporate varying hints of reggae style – but all of them also share the trait of bringing in other genres that spice up their sound and make each band that more unique.

And what is a “Republik,” but a group of different individuals with a common vision?

Tickets can be purchased for $42.50 (general admission in advance), $48 (general admission on event day), and $90 (VIP in advance only) by calling the MACC Box Office at 242-SHOW or online at MauiArts.org.