07 May SunFest is All Dirty Heads Need

With virtually every song in its set list being about the sun, the heat or being outdoors, I’m convinced alternative/reggae-fusion group Dirty Heads wrote its tunes with SunFest in mind.

That’s why when the California-based group took the stage yesterday for a massively long set list of hits — an hour and a half with no breaks for chit chat — things just fell into place.

“It’s a beautiful day,” vocalist Dirty J told the crowd at the Ford stage. “Beautiful people.”

The sun’s sweet rays blanketed the audience of thousands, who tossed around giant beach balls right as the group’s set began.

Before Dirty Heads took the stage, indie-funk locals Magic City Hippies opened the festivities, followed by roots-dub reggae group Stick Figure. The combination was, for lack of a better word, magical — because it gave the ever-growing audience a taste of Dirty Heads’ multiple personalities.

On one end, the band is alternative, on another, traditional reggae. But then just to really confuse you, they throw in some hip-hop, pop and even ska. It creates the weird phenomenon that causes the group’s songs like “Lay Me Down” to be played across all radio stations of any genre.

As the six-piece played hits like “Neighborhood” and “Your Love,” the crowd of all ages danced and sang along word for word.

“How’re you guys feeling?” Dirty J asked. “We missed you.” This isn’t Dirty Heads’ first time performing at SunFest. They were also here in 2014. Since then, the group has released two full lengths — Sound of Change in 2014 and a self titled album in 2016. Those albums featured the singles “My Sweet Summer” and “That’s All I Need,” respectively.

“You guys are good,” Dirty J told the crowd as they tirelessly sang along. The coolest part about Dirty Heads is how clearly real its studio recordings are. Because when you see the band in person, it’s like nothing’s changed. For example, when the band played its 2016 song, “Red Lights,” percussionist Jon Olazabal had every detail laid out, down to the woodblock and vibraslap.

After playing a medley of hits, including “Lay Me Down,” the band encored with favorites like “Oxygen” and “That’s All I Need.”

Dirty J even changed the lyrics in the chorus for “That’s All I Need” from “right here, right now,” to “right here, SunFest, that’s all I need.” We couldn’t agree more.