Maybe you’ve heard them on your favorite Pandora reggae station, or maybe you’ve heard them on “Rasta Stevie” Smith’s “Heartbeat of Zion” radio show on KDUR, but tonight you can see Tribal Seeds live at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College.
After four strong years of touring, the band is making a name for itself on the reggae scene. The group will kick off its “Tribal Youth Tour” tonight before heading east.
This sextet doesn’t slow down. In 2003, the band started playing in a San Diego garage, and since then, it released its self-titled debut album in 2008 and “The Harvest” in 2009, both of which were named “best of” on the iTunes reggae lists. Its latest release in 2011, the EP “Soundwaves,” reached No. 2 on the Billboard reggae charts.
Tribal Seeds currently is working on its next album, which does not have a release date, but the band will be playing some new songs tonight, said Tony-Ray Jacobo, producer, keyboard player and founding member along with lead singer and his younger brother, Steven Rene Jacobo.
“We like to put on shows that carry a lot of energy and excitement. We like to get people dancing,” Tony-Ray Jacobo said while on the road to Durango.
There’s a message behind it, too. He said they’re “promoting peace, love and truth,” just as some of their influences did. The band members grew up listening to the likes of Bob Marley, Steel Pulse and Midnite.
Tony-Ray Jacobo says he and Steven Rene were surrounded by reggae in their household from birth.
“It was only natural for us to have a love and passion for it,” he said.
Tribal Seeds started as a high school band when Tony-Ray was a senior and Steven Rene was a sophomore. They took music lessons on and off, and soon enough, they were doing what they set out to do: pursuing music as a career.
It’s not easy to do in today’s ever-evolving music industry, but they’ve built a path that’s allowed them to share stages with big names, including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pretty Lights and Steel Pulse, with whom they played shows in New Mexico and Arizona this summer.
Tribal Seeds toured the U.S. in July and August on the Kickin’ Up Dust tour, opening for indie rapper Atmosphere and rockers Slightly Stoopid and Rebelution. The tour included one show in their hometown where it performed in front of 15,000 people.
“Our friends and family were there to share that moment with us. It was amazing,” Tony-Ray Jacobo said.
He and the band won’t forget Rebelution. He says the band took Tribal Seeds on its first big tour in 2009 and gave the band some great exposure.
“It was our first real tour, and we feel it launched us to be able to get into the scene and in front of reggae fans in other parts of the country. Big ups and respect to those boys,” Jacobo said.
The support continues to flow. The band has reeled in reggae legend Don Carlos to collaborate on its new album, along with some other “heavy hitters,” Jacobo said.
Tribal Seeds has played in Colorado plenty of times, including Red Rocks Ampitheatre in April, and its next stop is the Ogden Theatre in Denver on Saturday night.
But Durango will be a first for the band, and Jacobo says the band members are looking forward to it.
mhayden@durangoherald.com
If you go
Tribal Seeds, with special guests Fortunate Youth and Hirie, 7:30 p.m. today at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College. Tickets cost $29 for Plaza, $19 for Orchestra-level seating, available by phone at 247-7657, online www.durangoconcerts.com or the Welcome Center at Eighth Street and Main Avenue.
