Sardinia's reggae scene, a long-standing and vibrant music scene, continues to thrive in autumn: tomorrow evening, Corto Maltese in Poetto hosts the second installment of "Unity & Culture," a festival Isla Sound has relaunched in 2025 after an eight-year hiatus. At 9 pm, the celebrated island voice ShakaRoot will perform on the Cagliari venue's stage, accompanied for the occasion by the Kalamity Band, followed by vinyl selections from Isla Sound.
The special guest
ShakaRoot, originally from Carbonia and born in 1988, fell in love with the sounds of roots reggae at a very young age and decided to devote himself to art, attracting attention as early as 2007 with the single "Jah Is Always Around" published on the early MySpace. Having attracted the attention of producer Macro Beats, he and his partner produced "We Need A Solution" (2008), which became an unexpected anthem of European underground reggae. While continuing to perform around Sardinia with many other artists of the genre, he set to work on his debut album "Prisoner in Babylon," which was released in 2009 as an extended play, entirely dedicated to the tragedy of child soldiers. Following awards and subsequent releases, ShakaRoot moved first to Urbino to study, and then to England, where he taught as a primary school teacher in Brighton and released the entirely acoustic album "I, Wings" (2017). After the moving "Anything We Need" (2020), dedicated to her late mother and also broadcast on BBC channels, that same year the artist embarked on "ShakaRoot meets Tsadqan," a collaborative project with producer Mighi Tsadiq. Her new autobiographical album, "Jah Musician," will be released on January 7th.
The backing band
The Kalamity Band is a recently formed group, composed of Jacopo Carta (guitar), Samuele Frongia (keyboards), Simone Maccioni (bass), and Fabrizio Dettori (drums), all of whom have previously played in local reggae bands such as Arrokibi Roots, The Islanders, Dub in Island, and The Misty Morning. Combining groove influences with solid riddim band foundations, Kalamity will accompany ShakaRoot as he performs his repertoire, including originals, remixes, and reinterpretations.
