It ain’t BottleRock, and that’s a good thing. Although the Napa-based music festival shares the same initials as Healdsburg’s BloodRoot, one won’t find miles-long traffic jams, $250 tickets or caviar corndogs here—nor is one likely to find stars like Justin Timberlake, Green Day or Public Enemy. But BloodRoot has plenty of talent taking the stage: four bands over an eight-hour day of music, including one certified international star.
Ziggy Marley hasn’t played in Sonoma County for 10 years, but he remains one of the biggest names in reggae, the musical genre that his father did so much to popularize. Ziggy, one of five brothers following in Bob Marley’s footsteps, is by far the most successful torch-bearer for that legacy. He’s been touring since his father’s death in 1981 and has produced several hit songs of his own: the albums Conscious Party with the Melody Makers, Love is My Religion and Fly Rasta all won Grammys.
He was also a producer of the recent film “One Love,” which despite mixed reviews rekindled interest in reggae and Bob Marley’s life. Marley himself was a victim of gun violence, when unknown assailants broke into his Kingston home and opened fire. He was hit, as were his wife Rita and several others, though there were no fatalities.
It’s a music festival first and foremost, but it’s also inextricably linked with the issue of gun violence. BloodRoot’s Kelley and Noah Dorrance lost a niece in the 2023 Nashville Covenant School shooting, just as plans for the first BloodRoot were taking shape. The festival continued as a benefit for GIFFORDS, the advocacy and research organization preventing gun violence founded in the wake of Rep. Gabby Giffords’s shooting in 2011…