HIRIE Facebook page
There she is, perched on a quad in snowy Stockton, Utah. HIRIE surely is a wandering soul.
“Vroom — what a blast,” she posted on Facebook. “Never really experienced powder like this before and the power of a 4X4.” The new face of reggae hasn’t visited the Sierra since October, so she may be in for a surprise.
A bouncing bundle of happiness from Kaneohe, Hawaii, HIRIE rolls into downtown Reno Thursday for an 8 p.m. concert at Cargo Concert Hall, along with Tribal Theory and The Expendables. Tickets to the all-ages, standing-room show are $16, or $18 at the door.
Released last Aug. 19, HIRIE’s “Wandering Soul” debuted on the first week of September at No. 1 on Billboard’s Reggae Albums chart. It remained in the Top 10 for five weeks.
HIRIE sings reggae with an island bent. She was born in the Philippines, raised in Italy and lived “the most influential” portion of her life in Hawaii. She was able to catch fire nationally in 2013 with the hit song “Sensi Boy.” In 2015, she co-headlined a Cargo show with Collie Buddz and also has appeared at the Crystal Bay Club on Tahoe’s north shore.
The Expendables also are touring in support of new music, “Stay Now,” a single featuring Eric Rachmany (lead singer for reggae stalwarts Rebelution). The Expendables took a lifestyle and turned it into a career. Longtime friends Geoff Weers (guitar and vocals), Adam Patterson (drums and vocals) Raul Bianchi (lead guitar) and Ryan DeMars (bass) grew up in laid-back Santa Cruz, surfing, skating, partying and playing music. They formed the band in 1997 and have been going strong since.
They’ve shared the stage with the likes of Slightly Stoopid, Pepper and Steel Pulse, developing their own brand of surf/rock/reggae with shades of punk and ska.
San Diego’s Tribal Theory also has been performing since the mid 1990s, creating a fusion of their Pacific Island culture with the “feel-good vibes of reggae, the grittiness of rock and the soulful harmonies of R&B.”
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Tim Parsons / Tahoe Onstage
