Through 25 years and eight independent albums, the last four on their own Right Coast Records, Ballyhoo! have earned the exclamation point which marks their name. Starting in the basement of their mom’s Aberdeen, MD, home, rocking out on guitar and drums respectively, practicing every day, brothers Howi and Donald Spangler formed the proto-punk band in the mold of Green Day and Nirvana, with an eye towards the emerging ska genre led by Goldfinger, Sublime, 311 and No Doubt. The group’s eighth and most recent studio album, the breezy, ska-fueled, hook- filled Message to the World, on their own Right Coast Records, finds the self- declared “beach-rockers,” having grown up in public, accepting the responsibilities of adulthood while still hanging on to their dreams of world domination. Stylistically, their music ranges from the hard-edged punk of 2018’s Detonate, which captured the feelings of anger and depression from dealing with personal loss and the exhaustion generated by over a decade on the road to the island reggae beats of the follow-up, Message to the World. “Whatever you want to achieve, just focus on that and work towards it,” explains Howi about the Ballyhoo! ethos. “Don’t worry about followers, views, or even money. Just keep making good stuff. One day it may be possible to finally quit that day job and live your dream full time.”Ballyhoo! is still doing just that, purveying good vibes, positivity and fun live shows meant to take you away from real life...

On Passafire’s fifth studio release, Vines, the Savannah, GA based rock outfit continues to progress towards what they feel is their true identity as a band in the reggae rock genre. After starting fresh with several new pieces to the puzzle on their 2011 release, Start From Scratch, they have now teamed up with Easy Star Records (Easy Star All Stars, John Brown’s Body, The Green, Cas Haley) for what the band considers their best album yet. “Passafire continues to stretch Easy Star’s sound and style,” says Lem Oppenheimer, co-founder of the label. “They bring a harder rock edge while still grounding their music in a progressive reggae base. They fit the mold of all of our artists: dedicated, hard working, touring their butts off, and never settling for what people expect of them.” Passafire was formed in 2003 by students attending Savannah College of Art and Design. Throughout the years, they have become a perpetually touring band playing hundreds of shows a year with bands like 311, Rebelution, Pepper, Matisyahu, Michael Franti, The Wailers and many more. Bowne doesn’t mind the grueling schedule and adds, “Touring is the best way to keep the buzz about the band going. What keeps it fun and exciting is the people we meet and places we get to see. We are in a new city every day so there’s always something to go see or do. If we didn’t tour constantly, we wouldn’t be doing as well as we are. That’s a fact.”