Reggae fever: Soul, rock bands rise up in Naples, Fort Myers as genre goes mainstream

Go to most any venue or concert in town, and you may find yourself feeling some serious reggae vibes. 

Reggae originated in Jamaica in the 1960s and has long been looked at in the U.S. as beach music typically played by Jamaican artists. But the tide is changing fast, according to Southwest Florida's reggae-inspired bands.

"It used to be that reggae was only found on the beach. But now you have bands like us trying to do something a little different on a more professional scale," said Nickardo Salmon, bass player and vocalist for NostalJah, a reggae band based in Cape Coral.

Salmon, in his thirties, was raised in Jamaica and played reggae there. He met his wife Drea, also a vocalist, in Southwest Florida, and together they started a band in 2015. Now, they play in cities between Naples and Port Charlotte as well as across the state. 

He brings reggae, a mix of music elements like rhythm and blues, jazz and Jamaican folk music. She adds a more soulful, R&B sound. And when they fuse them together, they create a sound all their own. 

"We play some good, positive music with a positive message," Salmon said.

"And have fun doing it."

In recent years, Salmon has noticed reggae catch on not just in Southwest Florida but across the country. More and more cities are hosting reggae-style festivals and mainstream artists are fusing the sound into their own music.

Bands like Rebelution play arenas nationwide. Close to home, St. Petersburg attracts thousands of people each year for Reggae Rise-Up, and Cape Coral puts on its own reggae fest. NostalJah played in the Cape Coral Spring Break Reggae Fest in March. 

"I think there's more of a market for reggae now," Salmon said, alluding to mainstream artists like Rihanna and MAGIC!. The latter is known for its reggae fusion hit "Rude" released in 2014. 

As the genre has become more mainstream nationwide, more local bands are popping up across Southwest Florida. 

"When you have a market open for a type of music of course bands are going to learn the style," said Roots Almighty front man Jesus Martinez. 

Other area reggae bands: SOWFLO, an original rock/reggae band currently on its 'New Shoes' summer tour, and The Freecoasters, which fuses soul and reggae. 

Roots Almighty likes to stick with tradition. The five-member band formed in the early 2000s, and writes and performs roots reggae, a sub-genre of reggae.

"It's community oriented, politically minded, socially minded and a music that drives people to not only think but take action," said Martinez about the genre.

Martinez, in his thirties, is from Venezuela and said reggae is even bigger in South America.

While Roots Almighty sticks with a more traditional sound, Martinez said he sings about current events, political unrest and daily struggles.

"I think we were one of the first reggae-influenced bands in Southwest Florida. Every reggae band since has found their own sound," Martinez said. 

And helping them get that sound to the masses is Sugarshack, a multimedia company based in Bonita Springs. 

Eddie Kopp is the founder of Sugarshack, named after his white cottage-style house in Bonita. His deck is the venue for Sugarshack Sessions, a YouTube channel that launched in 2014, and is still popular today, featuring more than 100 local, emerging and nationally touring artists of all genres, but mainly reggae. Currently, more than 60,000 users subscribe to the channel. 

"We host the most productive backyard party you'll ever go to in your life. We just have amazing concerts. It doesn't feel like we have five cameras rolling on these artists," said Kopp in a previous article about Sugarshack in May. "We just want to capture the most organic, realest, rawest performance you'll ever see of those artists."

Besides producing backyard sessions once or twice a month, Sugarshack offers video and audio production, photography and graphic design services. 

Roots Almighty worked with Sugarshack earlier this year on a music video for the band's new track: "Thanks and Praises." The video was shot at a local recording studio in Bonita. Martinez said his band plans to release a nine-track album later this summer. 

When asked where he sees reggae going in the future, at least in the U.S., Martinez said pop. But he hopes reggae stays close to its roots.

See these bands live

• Roots Almighty performs 7 p.m., Aug. 8 at The Ranch Concert Hall & Saloon (2158 Colonial Blvd.) in Fort Myers. The band will open for reggae's Steel Pulse. For tickets, visit https://nplsne.ws/2LoKvRO
• SOWFLO is traveling the country for its 'New Shoes' summer tour. Visit sowflo.com/ for show schedule. 
• The Freecoasters is also on tour, but will perform at the Lani Kai (1400 Estero Blvd.) in Fort Myers Beach between 5 and 9 p.m., July 22.
• Visit nostaljahmusic.com/ to see where the band is headed to next