Groundation

Groundation arrives at La Coopérative de Mai in Clermont-Ferrand on June 12, 2026, for an evening dedicated to their jazz-tinged roots reggae. Carried by Harrison Stafford’s voice and finely crafted horn and keyboard arrangements, the California band puts its live groove back at the center of the action with Candle Burning, their eleventh album recorded to analog tape at the ICP in Brussels. The new songs look less toward adversity than toward life, inner momentum and the flame that connects people, while opening the circle to major guests: Alpha Blondy, Jamaican poet and activist Mutabaruka, Zimbabwean figure Thomas Mapfumo and Mykal Rose, the longtime voice of Black Uhuru. In concert, Groundation links these compositions with its standout tracks in a fluid exchange between roots pulses, improvisation and vocal harmonies, tracing a natural bridge between Kingston, California and Southern Africa, without losing the sense of collective spirit that defines the band on stage.