This year’s OC Fair music performances include one of Hawaii’s best musical exports, Pepper, on July 31st. This standalone event features additional support from Orange County natives, Common Sense and another SoCal gem, Pacific Dub.
When Pepper announced the show on Monday afternoon, their fans were quick to respond as it will be the band’s first Southern California show since February 2020’s One Love Cali Reggae Festival.
PHOTO BY RON LYON
Formed in Hawaii in 1996, Pepper relocated to the mainland in San Diego where they began making waves and forming strong bonds with other large-scale acts such as Shaggy and Burning Spear. Since that time, Pepper has recorded eight studio albums, hit number two on the Billboard Reggae Charts with their sophomore album “Kona Town,” and “The Whistle Song” was a featured track on the “Good Luck Chuck” soundtrack. With the success of “Whistle Song,” there was another song made noise on the airwaves, that song was “Give It Up.”
In 2016, their album “Local Motion” peaked at number one on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart and made it to number 13 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart. Pepper has enjoyed other hits with songs like “Blackout,” “F**KAROUND,” and their super-hit “Warning,” which features Stick Figure.
After having to rework their summer tour schedule due to changes in concert regulation for some of the large summer festivals, Pepper announced that their July 31st date at the OC Fair is still scheduled as planned. The native Hawaiian band is excited to see all the “brohana” back in full effect, so expect new material, more energy, and their exclusive line of wine to be available at the event. Oh, you haven’t heard that the members of Pepper are also vintners? In 2016, the band partnered with Thomas Booth (aka The Wine Boss) and released their first wine – Kona Town Original Blend – and have gone on to win several awards for their other blends.
Tickets for the OC Fair show are on sale now and they are sure to sell out fast. Since California officially lifted the COVID-19 restrictions on June 15th, audience members should expect a close-to-capacity show and some sense of normality since COVID disrupted our concert world.
