Groundation
dub · reggae · jazz
Groundation is a roots reggae band formed in 1998 in Sonoma County, California, out of the jazz program at Sonoma State University by guitarist and vocalist Harrison Stafford. Its name comes from Grounation, the Rastafari observance marking Haile Selassie's 1966 visit to Jamaica. The band fuses reggae with jazz and dub, building long, improvisation-tolerant arrangements around horn lines, polyrhythmic percussion and layered harmony vocals, and it records strictly on analog instruments; Stafford has said the group works without synthesizers, keeping to the format of the 1970s. Stafford co-founded Young Tree Records with Kris Dilbeck in 1999 to release the band's music, with some later titles issued through Easy Star Records. The catalog runs from the debut Young Tree (1999) through Each One Teach One (2001), Hebron Gate (2003), We Free Again (2004), Dub Wars (2005), Upon the Bridge (2006), Here I Am (2009), Building an Ark (2012), A Miracle (2014), Each One Dub One (2016), The Next Generation (2018), One Rock (2022) and Candle Burning (2025). The Next Generation was voted best roots reggae album of 2018 by the French site Reggae.fr, and One Rock brought in the veteran Jamaican vocal groups Israel Vibration, The Abyssinians and The Congos. More recent work includes a collaboration with Alpha Blondy and Mykal Rose. The current lineup pairs Stafford on vocals and guitar with Isaiah Palmer on bass, Zach Morillo on drums, Eduardo Gross on guitar, Pau Dangla Valls on keyboards and a three-piece horn section of Roger Cox on saxophone, Jeff Cressman on trombone and Darren Johnston on trumpet. The band tours heavily in Europe, particularly France, where it plays summer festival dates alongside its North American club schedule.
Upcoming shows
- Groundation — Thursday, October 1, 2026 at Felton Music Hall