Since forming on O’ahu, Hawai’i, in 2009, The Green has become one of the most successful and beloved bands in the reggae genre. During their 10 year run, they’ve won a plethora of awards, locally and nationally. The band has been awarded a Best Reggae Album nod from iTunes, multiple Na Hoku Hanohano awards and nominations in their native Hawai’i and three #1 Billboard Reggae chart debuts, along with charting on the Billboard Top 200. Not bad for a band that was formed by six members of Hawai’i’s tight-knit music scene to record a few songs and have some fun.
The Green was one of the first Hawaiian reggae bands to tour extensively on the mainland, as well as going further afield to New Zealand, Japan and other locales. Before becoming a headliner on their own tour, the band supported bands like Rebelution, Iration, SOJA, Bruno Mars, and Damian Marley, as well as performed at acclaimed festivals including Vans Warped Tour, Wakarusa, Life Is Beautiful, Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, One Love Cali Reggae Festival, California Roots Festival, and more. Most notable, The Green opened for Bruno Mars in back-to-back sold out shows at Hawaii's iconic Aloha Stadium.
Their fourth album, Marching Orders, released via longtime label partner Easy Star Records debuted at #1 on Billboard Reggae chart and remained in the top 10 for over 18 consecutive weeks, regaining #1 spot 3 separate times. It was also awarded the Best Reggae album at the 2018 Na Hoku Hanohano awards and won Album Of The Year at the 2018 Island Music Awards. Their most recent album, Black & White, is an acoustic take on their greatest hits and is currently up for multiple Na Hoku Hanohano Award nominations including Reggae Album of the Year and Group of the Year. Their latest release, My Hawai’i, carries a powerful message that embodies the resilience of the Hawaiian community in their continuous fight to protect their homelands. It is currently also up for a Na Hoku Hanohano Award as Single of the Year.
Since forming on O’ahu, Hawai’i, in 2009, The Green has become one of the most successful and beloved bands in the reggae genre. They are among the very first reggae bands from the Hawaiian islands to extensively tour the US mainland and perform in such far-flung locales as Japan and New Zealand. One of the genre’s busiest acts, prior to headlining their own tours, the band supported many American reggae bands including Rebelution, Iration, SOJA, and even Jamaica’s Damian Marley. Grammy winning pop superstar Bruno Mars selected The Green to open his three sold out shows at Honolulu’s Blaisdell Arena in 2014 and his two sold out dates at Honolulu’s Aloha Stadium, Hawaii’s largest outdoor venue, in 2018. The Green have also appeared on several of America’s biggest music festivals, including the Vans Warped Tour, Wakarusa, Life Is Beautiful, Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, One Love Cali Reggae Festival, California Roots Festival, and Rebelution’s Bright Side Festival in Jamaica.
With much of the live music industry scaled back or in a holding pattern for 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, many musicians enjoyed an extended hiatus at home with family and friends and additional time to focus on their music. The Green launched their forthcoming album, Brand New Eyes, by performing two consecutive shows on May 20-21, 2021, at an event called Brand New Eyes: The Experience. It was held on the rooftop of Waikiki’s International Market Place and is Hawaii’s first rooftop concert; the concert footage can be seen on The Green’s YouTube channel.
For band members Ikaika Antone (keyboards, vocals) and Zion Thompson (guitar, vocals), who became first time fathers during the pandemic, the lockdown afforded expanded time to bond with their newborn daughters; for the entire band, the lockdown provided an opportunity for deeper concentration on their music making. “Because we weren’t touring, we were able to pull the album together in a way that we couldn’t before,” says Ikaika. “Now that our families are growing, it’s time to get more proactive with our music, so the pandemic was a blessing in disguise, and we adapted really well.”
