Date: Sunday, May 24th 2015 (5:20 – 6:00pm at The Original Stage)
Line Up: E.N Young
Venue: California Roots Music and Arts Festival. Monterey County Fairgrounds. Monterey, CA
Live: E.N Young @ Cali-Roots (5-24-15)
Following a Sunday afternoon performance playing alongside Tribal Seeds on The California Roots Festival’s Bowl stage, E.N Young made his way to the festival’s Original stage for his own set. Backed by his band, Imperial Sound, Young played over half an hour consisting mostly of songs off his 2015 release, Live Love Stay Up.
Young started the crowd with “Creation Rebel,” a song featured on the latest album. And then Young did something that perhaps no artist at Cali Roots would even think of doing; He sampled Skrillex to transition into the meat of his set with his signature dreadlocks making their first appearance of the night.
But like so many of the other acts at this year’s festival, E.N Young mentioned California Roots talent-buyer and partner Dan Sheehan as a major influence on his career as an artist. Sheehan was 
responsible for bringing Young and his music to the islands of Hawaii and Guam. It is clear that the relationships the founders have been able to build with their pool of talented artists is the reason why California Roots has become what it is today.
Before going in on his track “Blessed Love,” an emotional Young dedicated the ballad to his wife. During the set the San Diego-based musician was joined on stage by fellow Tribal Seeds members Maad T-Ray, Gonzo and drummer Carlos Verdugo, each helping to play separate E.N Young original songs.
While Young has been a major player in the reggae scene for awhile, touring with Tribal Seeds and producing records at his studio Imperial Sound Studio, his solo career is just starting to take off. Always busy working on a staggering amount of projects, Young told The Pier that he is starting to invest more time in his own work.
“For a couple years I produced a lot of records and during that time I was able to join one of the best bands in the states, Tribal Seeds. It was a blessing and I put priority to that. But I have always wanted to do the solo thing all the way and now I have the opportunity to do that. I have a lot of ideas for my own music that I didn’t have time to develop but now I feel the time has come.”
Young had a busy Cali-Roots performing keys and melodica with Tribal Seeds, drums for Leilani Wolfgramm among his other guest appearances throughout the weekend including his own solo-set. E.N Young is currently promoting his latest album Live Love Stay Up that was released January 20th via his own Roots Musician Records. Look out for E.N Young and Imperial Sound, his solo-venture, on tour performing new material from the new album!
E.N Young Set-List
Intro
Creation Rebel
Creation Remix
Creation Dub
Inspiration
Be Back Real Soon
Eye of the Storm
Never Leave Your Side
Don’t Burn Bridges
OverpoweringBlessedLove
Imagine Peace
Warriors
Related Link:
The Pier: Set-Lists at Cali-Roots 2015
Exclusive E.N Young Interview
E.N Young Website
E.N Young Facebook
E.N Young Twitter
Article By: Keenan Donath
Photos By: David Norris
Watch: The Pier at Cali-Roots 2015
More Photos of E.N Young at Cali-Roots 2015…
