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LDG EP#039 Drummer Wesley Finley of Rebelution

Published on: 27th March, 2018

Reggae Rise Up, the three-day reggae festival was back in full swing at the Vinoy Park in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida.

Rebelution was on the bill on the opening night and their drummer Wesley Finley was gracious enough to give me an live interview before his show.

For those of you who may not be familiar with Rebelution, they are a California Reggae Roots band and it all started in 2004 with 5 guys (Eric Rachmany, Matt Velasquez, Rory Carey, Marley D. Williams and Wesley Finley)who met during college while attending University of California, Santa Barbara all of which getting their degrees in religious studies (Rachmany), Anthropologie (Finley) film studies (Williams), and business economics (Carey). Matt Velasquez is no longer with the band.

In 2007 they released their first full-length album Courage to Grow which would become their breakthrough album. The album was praised for its crafty melodies, socially conscious lyrics, and savvy musicianship.

The band plays over 100-120 shows a year. Tours have taken them as far as Guam, Aruba, New Zealand and Europe.

They've played some of the largest music festivals including Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits Music Festival and have headlined and sold out Red Rocks and the Santa Barbara Bowl.

Rebelution received their first Grammy nomination in 2017 when their album Falling Into Place was nominated for the "Best Reggae Album" award.

Wesley's Drum set kicks butt and consists of:

DW Collector's Series

6 PC Cherry Mahogany Drumset:

-7" x 10", 8" x 12", 10" x 14" and

14" x 16" Toms

-6" x 14" snare

-20" x 22" Kick

-6.5" x 14" Black Nickel over Brass Snare

-4" x 12" LP Black Nickel Timbale

-Zildjian Cymbals:

-16" & 18" A Custom Crashes