The Elovaters are an American

reggae rock Reggae rock is a subgenre of reggae fusion and rock music that primarily uses the genres reggae, rock, and ska. Typical lyrics of reggae rock songs incorporate love, personal awareness, and life challenges while incorporating music and beat ...

band from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

that formed in 2014.

History

Formation and ''The Cornerstone'' (2014–2017)

Formed in 2014 in their original hometown of

Marshfield, Massachusetts Marshfield is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on Massachusetts's South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore. The population was 25,825 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It includes the census-designated places ...

, The Elovaters were formally The Cornerstone, a 7-piece reggae rock band rising on the Boston concert scene. The band later changed their name to The Elovaters, and re-released their debut album now taking their former title ''The Cornerstone''. It was officially released on January 20, 2017 and was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Mike Caplan at the Lion and Fox Studios in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

http://www.ineffablemusic.com/the-elovaters

''Defy Gravity'' (2018–2019)

Their sophomore album, ''Defy Gravity'' released on October 26, 2018 through Rootfire Cooperative and was produced by Danny Kalb. It debuted #1 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s Reggae chart and

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

Reggae chart. It was also voted people's choice "Album of the Year" by Surf Roots TV & Radio. Rootfire defined their music as "warm weather reggae out of one of the coldest places in the country." The band is currently represented by Madison House Agency. Their song "Boston" was played during the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

World Series parade. And "People Go" was featured on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

's '' Hawaii Five-0''. Both songs are from their ''Defy Gravity'' album.

''Double Vision EP'' (2020)

The Elovaters released their ''Double Vision'' EP on May 29, 2020; their second collaboration with producer Danny Kalb. The 5-song EP features Brett Bollinger of

Pepper Pepper(s) may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plants ** Black pepper ** Long pepper ** Kampot pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanacea ...

, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad,

Slightly Stoopid Slightly Stoopid is an American Rock music, rock band based in the Ocean Beach, San Diego, Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Diego, San Diego, California, who describe their music as "a fusion of folk, rock, reggae and blues with hip-hop, funk, m ...

, among others. It was recorded at The Noise Floor in

Dover, New Hampshire Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 32,741 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the most populous city in the New Hampshire Seacoast Region (New Hampshire), Seacoast region and ...

. The EP introduced their first single "Fast and Slow". In December 2020, ''Double Vision'' was also voted "EP of the Year" by online reggae news website, Reggae 360.

Live albums and ''Defy Dub''

The band released an acoustic live album titled ''Live @ Sugarshack Sessions'' on November 16, 2019. And a dub album, ''Defy Dub'' on August 28, 2020. They also released a live stream and digital album ''Live From The Felton Music Hall'' on October 25, 2020. It featured an hour and a half live performance of songs from their previous albums and EP at the Felton Music Hall in

Felton, California Felton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The population was 4,489 as of 2020 census and according to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land. History Felto ...

. The Elovaters was featured as one of many reggae bands on

Collie Buddz Colin Patrick Harper (born August 21, 1981), better known by his stage name Collie Buddz, is a Bermudian reggae singer. He signed with Columbia Records to release his self-titled debut studio album (2006), which entered the ''Billboard'' 200 ...

riddim album, ''Cali Roots Riddim 2020'' with their single, "Sensimilla", which was produced by Collie Buddz and mixed by

Stick Figure Stick Figure is an American reggae and dub band founded in 2005. The group has released eight full-length albums and one instrumental album (Prince Fatty Presents), all of which were written and produced by frontman and self-taught multi-instr ...

's touring guitarist, producer Johnny Cosmic. In January 2021, The Elovaters was one of several reggae and punk bands on ''The House That Bradley Built'', a charity compilation honoring Sublime's lead singer Bradley Nowell, helping musicians with substance abuse. They covered Sublime's song "Get Ready" on the Deluxe Edition.

''Castles'' (2021)

The Elovaters released their third full-length album, ''Castles'' on August 13, 2021 on their own imprint Belly Full Records. It was produced by Johnny Cosmic and recorded at

's Great Stone Studios in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

in only 16 days. Jackson Wetherbee said t's the"most eclectic album we've ever done. I've brought in more singer/songwriter stuff. We weren't trying to be overly reggae on this album." Starting in March, they released singles from the upcoming album which features reggae artists

The Movement The Movement may refer to: Politics * The Movement (Iceland), a political party in Iceland * The Movement (Israel), a political party in Israel, led by Tzipi Livni * Civil rights movement, the African-American political movement * The Movement ...

Brother Ali Ali Douglas Newman (born Jason Douglas Newman, July 30, 1977), better known by his stage name Brother Ali, is an American rapper, community activist, and member of the Rhymesayers Entertainment hip hop collective. He has released nine albums, ...

, G. Love & Special Sauce, Keznamdi,

, Luke Mitrani, and

St. Maarten Sint Maarten () is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean region of North America. With a population of 58,477 as of June 2023 on an area of , it encompasses the southern 44% of the divided island of ...

reggae group, Orange Grove. Jackson Wetherbee

''Endless Summer'' (2023)

In June 2023, The Elovaters announced their fourth studio album, ''Endless Summer'', which was released on July 28. Starting in March, they released singles, "All Her Favorite Songs" (feat. Little Stranger), "Sunlight", "M.I.A., and "Come and Get It". The 14-track album was produced by Danny Kalb with additional production and songwriting by Nick Bailey. It was engineered by assistant Marco Ramiez at

Sonic Ranch Sonic Ranch, in the border town of Tornillo, Texas, is the world's largest residential recording studio complex. There are five studios designed by Vincent Van Haaff on a pecan orchard, which borders the Rio Grande and Mexico. Located east of ...

Tornillo, Texas Tornillo ( ) is a border town in El Paso County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,568 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined this Unincorporated area#United St ...

and mastered by Chris Gehringer at

Sterling Sound George Marino (April 15, 1947June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He attended ...

Edgewater, New Jersey Edgewater is a borough located along the Hudson River in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 14,336, an increase of 2,823 (+24.5%) from the 2010 census count of 11,5 ...

. The cover features artwork by Laihha Organna, who designed the band's single covers. The band went on tour with

Shwayze Aaron Smith, better known as Shwayze (born May 29, 1985), is an American rapper. His first single " Buzzin'" peaked at No. 46 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. His second single " Corona and Lime," reached No. 23 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in t ...

and Surfer Girl to promote the album in fall 2023.

Awards and honors

In 2018, The Elovaters won the annual '' Surf Roots TV & Radio'' fans-choice "Album of the Year" with their ''Defy Gravity'' album. In August 2021, The Elovaters were entered into the New England Music Awards. They were nominated for three categories: "Act of the Year", "Live Act of the Year", and "Roots Act of the Year". The winners were announced on October 18, and The Elovaters won "Roots Act of the Year". On December 26, 2021, The Elovaters won the most votes by

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

and

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

users for the "2021 Album of the Year" by '' Surf Roots TV & Radio'' for their album ''Castles''. This is the band's second time winning with the reggae rock streaming TV channel for

Amazon Fire TV Amazon Fire TV (formerly stylized as amazon fireTV) is a line of digital media players and microconsoles developed by Amazon since November 2014. The devices are small network appliances that deliver digital audio and video content streamed v ...

Apple TV Apple TV is a digital media player and a microconsole developed and marketed by Apple. It is a small piece of networking hardware that sends received media data such as video and audio to a TV or external display. Its media services include ...

, and

Roku Roku ( ) is a brand of consumer electronics that includes streaming players, smart TVs (and their operating systems), as well as a free TV streaming service. The brand is owned by Roku, Inc., an American company. As of 2024, Roku is the U ...

, making them the first two-time winners. The Elovaters were once again entered into the New England Music Awards for 2022. This time, they were nominated for four categories: "Artist of the Year", "Live Act of the Year", "Album of the Year" for ''Castles'', and "Song of the Year" with "Margaritas". The winners were announced on November 13 during the award show at Six String Grill and Stage in Foxborough, MA. The band won "Artist Of The Year" and "Live Act of The Year". The Elovaters were awarded "Best Reggae/Ska Artist” of the year at the 2022

Boston Music Awards Founded in 1987, the Boston Music Awards are a set of music awards given annually that showcase talent in the Boston, Massachusetts, area. Past shows have featured such notable talent as Aerosmith, Paula Cole, Esperanza Spalding, Boston (band), ...

Tours

Over the years, The Elovaters have been an opening act for

Ziggy Marley David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley (born 17 October 1968) is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is the son of Bob Marley and Rita Marley. He led the family band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers until 2002, with whom he released eight studio albums. After ...

Easy Star All-Stars Easy Star All-Stars is a reggae collective founded in 1997 by Michael Goldwasser, Eric Smith, Lem Oppenheimer and Remy Gerstein of New York City-based Easy Star Records. The band is known for its reinterpretations of classic albums in reggae st ...

, and

. They have played in festivals such as the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, Reggae Rise Up (both Florida and Utah), Levitate Music Festival, and One Love Cali Reggae Festival, and the California Roots Music and Arts Festival. On September 11, 2021, The Elovaters was one of the headliners that opened for

, along with special performances by

Stephen Marley Stephen Robert Nesta Marley (born April 20, 1972) is a Jamaican-American musician. The son of Bob Marley, Marley is an eight-time Grammy Award winner, three times as a solo artist, twice as a producer of his younger paternal half-brother Damian ...

, and

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is an 1867 five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the 1787 play '' Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

& The Dub Vision Band at

Petco Park Petco Park is a ballpark in San Diego, California. It is the home of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). The ballpark is located in the East Village neighborhood of downtown San Diego, adjacent to the Gaslamp Quarter. Petco Par ...

, home of the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. The Elovaters joined

on their "Summer Traditions" Tour in the Summer of 2022. Openers included

Common Kings Common Kings is an American, Hawaiian, and Samoan reggae rock/pop band from Orange County, California. The band's debut album, ''Lost in Paradise'', was nominated for a Grammy Award. History Formation (2011) Born in the South Pacific and raised ...

, and Fortunate Youth. During the Summer of 2023, The Elovaters were on tour with

and

during their headlining "Wisdom Tour". In the Summer of 2024, The Elovaters joined

Dirty Heads Dirty Heads is an American reggae rock band from Huntington Beach, California. Their debut album, '' Any Port in a Storm'', was released on September 23, 2008, by Executive Music Group (Fontana/Universal). Their latest album, ''Midnight Control ...

and

on their "Slightly Dirty Summer Tour", which including opening bands,

and Fortunate Youth. Other acts in some cities included Passafire, HIRIE, Eli Mac, and Johnny Cosmic & K Bong.

Other projects

The Elovaters collaborated with Vitamin Sea Brewing, LLC in their home state

Weymouth, Massachusetts Weymouth is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is one of 13 municipalities in the state to have city forms of government while retaining "town of" in their official names. It is named after Weymouth, Dorset, a coastal town ...

on an IPA called "Criminal" (7%) after their single. The brewery describes it as, "smooth and full of soul, this one is packed with Juicy Simcoe and Sabro hops". They also have a special merchandise collection with the company, featuring the band's 'smoking bear' logo on beach towels, bags, and drink containers. In November 2022, The Elovater's collaborated with Wine Boss to make a special reserve

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

that is named after the band's hit single, "Criminal". Inspired by Jackson Wetherbee's choice of wine that "paired well with the positive energy and the 'Getaway' feels of their music", it has notes of red fruit and hints of oak, vanilla and a touch of bell pepper. In February 2023, The Elovaters announced that "Criminal Cabernet" won a gold medal in the 2023 WineJudging.com wine tasting competition. There were over sixty judges at the event, representing various North American wine regions, evaluating 5,500 wines from nearly 1,000 wineries.

Lineup

Current members

*Jackson Wetherbee – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (2014–present) *John Alves – lead guitar (2014–present) *Matt Link – bass (2018–present) *Nick Asta – drums (2014–present) *Derrick Cabral – percussion (2014–present) *Greg Nectow – keyboard (2017–present) Past *Nick Frenay – trumpet, saxophone (2014–2017) *Myles Sweeney – keyboard (2014–2017) *Mark King - bass (2014–2016)

Discography

Studio albums

EPs/Live/Dub albums

Singles

Collaborations

Featured artist

The Elovaters (Jackson Wetherbee) has collaborated or was featured on songs with artists and bands throughout the years. *

O.A.R. O.A.R. (short for Of A Revolution) is an American rock band, founded in 1996 in Rockville, Maryland. The band consists of lead vocalist/guitarist Marc Roberge, drummer Chris Culos, guitarist Richard On, bassist Benj Gershman, and saxophonist/g ...

– "Gonna Be Me ( J-Vibe Version)" (feat.

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He has been frequently lauded as one of hip hop's greatest producers by publications such as '' ...

) (4/11/2025) *Claire Wright – "If You Wanna Roll" (2/14/2025) * Tropidelic – "Floating" (feat. Iration) (5/17/2024) *Johnny Cosmic – "Georgia Rain" (2/9/2024) * Tribal Seeds – "Mellow Mood" (2/9/2024) *

– "Constellation" (6/8/2023) * Passafire – "Keepin' On" Remix (feat.

) (4/20/2023) * Ballyhoo! – "Sleepin' on the Couch" (2/17/2023) *Roots of Creation –"False Alarm" (2022) *

– "Gone With The Wind" (2022) *Surfer Girl – "Sunrise" (2022) * Bumpin Uglies – "Everything Changes" (2022) *Organically Good Trio – "Earthquake" (2022) *Elliott Martin (

John Brown's Body "John Brown's Body" ( Roud 771), originally known as "John Brown's Song", is a United States marching song about the abolitionist John Brown. The song was popular in the Union during the American Civil War. The song arose out of the folk hymn ...

) – "Double Down" (2022) *Joe Samba – "Losing It" (2022) *Dale and the Z-Dubs – "This Time" (2022) *Th3rd Coast Roots – "Have You Ever" (2022) * Of Good Nature – "Valerie" (2021) *Kyle Ahern – "You and Me" (feat. Kings and Comrades) (2020) * Little Stranger – "I'm Fine" (2021) * Artikal Sound System – "Spiritual Broadcaster" (2021) * Mihali – "Greater Escape" (feat.

) (2021) *Dub Town Rockers – "On A Sunday" (2021) *Dub Town Rockers – "Keep on the Sunny Side" (feat. Cas Haley) (2021) *Dub Town Rockers – "Sweet Dreams" (feat. HIRIE) (2021) *The Irie – "Turn Me Up" (2020) * Tropidelic – "New World" (feat.

Matisyahu Matthew Paul Miller (born June 30, 1979), known by his stage name Matisyahu (; ), is an American singer, rapper, beatboxer, and musician. Known for blending spiritual themes with reggae, rock and hip hop beatboxing sounds, Matisyahu's 2005 sin ...

& Bumpin Uglies) (2020) *Indubious – "One By One" (2019) *Signal Fire – "Too Late" (2019) *Organically Good Trio – "Live By The Day" (2017) *Chase Stebbins – "Summer Sun" (2015)

References

External links

*{{YouTube, u=THEELOVATERS, The Elovaters Musical groups from Boston American reggae musical groups Musicians from Massachusetts