I was so excited to get a photo pass for Pepper’s show in Philly. I’ve seen and photographed them live a few times at festivals, and they always bring it to the stage, but how would it be seeing them at a smaller, indoor venue? The day started off with a quick meet-up with Kaleo, Bret, and Yesod before the show for a few pictures for a personal project I am working on. I appreciated them taking the time to come out and meet up with me, and let me say, they are three of the dopest, coolest dudes—the kind of guys you could just chill with and, no matter what, have a great time.

After the photos and talking with the guys briefly, I received a text from Kaleo: “Hey buddy, Kaleo from Pepper here, not feeling 100% today hence my rush. Keep doing your craft, my man. Aloha!” Now, I never felt like he was rushed, and I told him I so appreciated the time. He responded, “Appreciate you being on fire for what you love to do. And that’s so important.” I hope he’s cool with me adding that in here because I wanted to show what a dope, down-to-earth person he is.

As we were nearing showtime, we got to do some photos of Vana Liya and the band. Let me say, she may be—no, I think she is—the sweetest person in all of reggae! And the band is equally amazing! Derek (violin), James (bass), Dan (guitar), and Jordenn (drums) are fantastic musicians, killing it on stage, but also freaking cool dudes. So nice, so humble, so chill. I would love to just hang with them and watch them jam and joke around.

Once inside The Brooklyn Bowl, we hung out with Vana and the guys, got some pics of them in a photo booth, and hung out in the “green room” with them. We all laughed because the green room was one of the bowling lanes behind the stage. We heard them jam a little and had some great conversations. I got to meet Vana a couple of years ago at Reggae Rise Up in Baltimore and hung out with her family. I know where she gets her sweetness from—her whole family is so kind and amazing. The show hadn’t even started, and I was already having a great time!

The show started off with Vana Liya and her awesome band performing “When It Feels,” sounding so great to get this night going. She followed up with her dope song “Island Heart.” This song takes you to the beach with those amazing island vibes. She flowed into a song she did with Collie Buddz, “Flying High,” with the crowd flying high right along with her and the guys.

One of my favorite songs was next: “Come Away.” Vana sounded so good up on stage. She has such a sweet and chill voice; it just takes you away. She brought us the classic “99 Red Balloons” and absolutely killed it. The crowd LOVED this song and sang right along with her. Another island vibes song, perfect for sitting at the beach with a tropical drink and just chilling, “Summer Soul,” was next. Then they flowed right into her song with K. Bong, “Feelin’ Good.” And we were all feelin’ good right about now.

A song I know she was so excited to do was next as Kaleo strutted out on stage to join them: “Round n Round.” The crowd erupted as he came out and started singing! The crowd absolutely loved this. They sounded so great together, their singing styles flowing through each other. Unfortunately, it was time for Vana and the guys to finish up, but they did it with another great song, “Gold.” This was a perfect song to end a perfect performance. If you have never seen Vana Liya and her band, you do not know what you are missing. So much love, so much energy, so chill, and again, so much love.

One thing I will say about Pepper is that their fan base is awesome: so dedicated, crazy, and with an age range of 5 to 90. They come out and party so hard with Pepper and truly love them. So cool to see. As Kaleo, Bret, and Yesod strolled out on stage—and yes, it was a stroll, like they owned the place (LOL)—the crowd went nuts as they acknowledged the fans, posed for a few photos, and showed their excitement for being there.

They started off the night with their hit “Stormtrooper,” with the crowd going absolutely mad. Everyone was ready for this party to get going. They went into “Love Affair,” with Kaleo taking on the vocals and adding (they definitely know their audience) that the Eagles are Super Bowl champs. The crowd went crazy! One thing you can say about Philly fans is that we love our Birds (and all our teams) and will absolutely LOVE anyone who acknowledges our teams and their accomplishments.

Next up was such an amazing song, “Fuck Around (All Night).” And we were all fucking around all night! Bret cracked open a can into the mic, asking the crowd to join him. We got a little “Davey Jones Locker” with that sweet reggae riddim flowing through the venue. “Rent” came at us next, with the crowd singing along to this one, not missing a lyric. Safe to say, it was a crowd favorite, as well as one of mine. They sounded so great; you would never know Kaleo wasn’t feeling 100%.

While this may only be spring (or maybe still winter), they brought us “Never Ending Summer.” By this time, we were no longer in the pit and walking through the crowd trying to get some more photos. The Brooklyn Bowl was completely packed, and it was so hard moving around with the camera equipment. “Dry Spell” started as I found a small open spot to stop and get a few more photos, but once “Dry Spell” picked up the pace, the crowd started dancing and jumping around.

They brought us their song with Stick Figure, “Warning.” This one hit nicely, with the crowd swaying back and forth and bobbing their heads. As I tried making my way through the crowd again, I heard “Dancing On The Moon,” and I swear this crowd would be dancing on the moon with Pepper if they could. “B.O.O.T.” came next, with the lyrics “So here I go with the bass line low, yeah. And there's nothing you can do, we blew out of this town” coming out of the speakers. This night had been awesome, and it just kept getting more hyped.

I have to give a shoutout to Jeff Nisen—he sounded so good on keys and guitar, really backing these guys so well. “No Control” was next, once again sounding excellent, with the crowd dancing along while I tried to make it backstage to Vana’s “green room.” Was the crowd down for this? They asked, “Are You Down” with their next jam. YES, they were down. Vana joined them on stage for “Tradewinds,” and again, they sounded so good together. I can only imagine how happy Vana is to be touring with and getting on stage with a band she idolizes. At one point, I watched her watching them perform on stage. So sweet to see.

They gave us a little “Crazy Love,” such a nice slower groove that had the crowd swaying. They hit us with “Too Much,” another great jam, totally rocking out to this one as they flowed into an amazing drum solo. Yesod is an absolute master at his craft and had the crowd in awe.

We knew the night was winding down as they gave us their classic hit “Stone Love.” It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve heard this, or the crowd has heard this—it always sounds so perfect and hits just right. We stayed with Kona Town and got “Give It Up,” still so much energy from Pepper and the crowd. Another amazing song from Kona Town was next: “Ho’s.” I think everyone was singing right along to all these songs.

The night, the show, the party was finished off with “Ashes.” No one wanted it to end. I don’t think Kaleo, Bret, and Yesod wanted it to end, but they finished it off with a bang. What a fun and entertaining night. The energy was off the charts, and the entire experience is one I will never forget. These guys are awesome, their fans are awesome, and Vana, Derek, James, Dan, and Jordenn are awesome. The night was one big party where everyone had a great time.

One Love – Todd M. Judd