Like most reggae bands, Rebelution are ganja fans. They have their own line of vape cartridges and sing about weed on their 2012 song "So High" (see above). Now, with the band off tour, lead singer/guitarist Eric Rachmany and guitarist Kyle Ahern are embarking on a solo acoustic tour benefiting the Last Prisoner Project, whose goal is to get busted marijuana users out of jail and back into society.
Formed on the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2004, Rebelution have released six studio albums since 2007; the last four have cracked the Top 40 on Billboard's albums chart. They tour regularly. This past summer Rebelution teamed up with Protoje and Collie Buddz.
The Last Prisoner Project dates are as follows:
11/29 – Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO
12/1 – Elevation 27, Virginia Beach, VA
12/2 – Union Stage, Washington, DC
12/3 – Rams Head on Stage, Annapolis, MD
12/5 – New York, New York – Bowery Ballroom
12/6 – Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA
12/7 – Theatre of Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA
12/17 – Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, OR
12/18 – Tractor Tavern, Seattle, WA
12/20 – The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
12/21 – The Observatory, Orange County, CA
12/22 – The Observatory North Park, San Diego, CA
Rebelution's manager Dean Raise and Steve DeAngelo and Andrew DeAngelo from Oakland dispensary Harborside Health Center founded the Last Prisoner Project (LPP). "After expenses, all profits from ticket sales and merchandise from these 12 shows are going to LPP's clemency, expungement and reentry programs to get people back to their families and back to work," reports Raise.
Rachmany told Billboard in 2017: "I grew up thinking cannabis was a drug. I found it to be a very different story by listening to reggae music, and actually looking into it some more and discovering that that wasn’t the case.”
Today, he says about his group's activism, "We've always been advocates for complete legalization and no one should be in prison for any cannabis conviction."
Following the acoustic tour, Rebelution will head to Hawaii for three shows from December 11-13 and then to Jamaica for the Bright Side Festival in January. Check out the tour schedule here.