Three sons of the great Jamaican reggae icon Bob Marley are at the top of the bill as the 13th Annual California Roots Music & Arts Festival returns to its three-day format for this year’s gathering Friday through Sunday at the Monterey Fair & Event Center.

Gates open at 11 a.m. each day with music from noon to 11 p.m. There will be top music artists from the reggae rock, island reggae, roots reggae, folk and conscious hip-hop genres.

Ziggy Marley tops Friday’s bill and the Damian & Stephen Marley Traffic Jam headline Saturday.

“We are excited to have the Marleys for 2024,” said Dan Sheehan of Good Vibez Presents. “I think the tie-in with the 2024 released ‘One Love’ movie is great. Excited about all that!”

A late addition to Friday’s lineup is Stick Figure, a favorite whose inclusion to the festival creates another level of excitement. More big name artists include Burning Spear, Rebelution, Ice Cube, E-40 & Too Short, Pepper, Lupe Fiasco, The Expendables, J Boog, and Collie Buddz. Additional festival favorites include The Elevators, Fortunate Youth, Xavier Rudd, Tribal Seeds, and The Green. And a healthy list of supporting acts who are either new or rising in the ranks of performers who lay claim to being Cali Roots family. Those are the bands that come regularly if not every year and fans can’t get enough of them. The full lineup with the daily breakdown and band bios and music is at www.californiarootsfestival.com.

The event grew from a one-day event starting in 2010 in Monterey, then made the leap to two and soon after to three. After a two-year layoff due to the pandemic, a four-day event was planned to celebrate the long-anticipated reunion and relief of the pent-up demand. It was a smash, drawing overflow sold-out crowds for most of the festival. That was 2022, and Good Vibez Presents thought it a good idea to carry on with that format in 2023. But the pent-up demand cooled a bit, the cost to attend a four-day festival became untenable for patrons, and the organization’s overall health demanded a return to three.

It’s probably somewhat of a relief to festival workers not to spend four back-to-back days running around the fairgrounds. Some of the highlights of the festival taking place outside the music performances are the relaxed, cool vibe of the crowd, owing often to the partaking of the herb, or to say, smoking the ganja, otherwise known as cannabis or marijuana. It is widely consumed across age demographics and ethnic backgrounds. While being a family-friendly event, there are laws restricting its consumption by minors under the age of 21 in California.

Since the get go of the legalization of cannabis in this state, there has been a reluctance by the city of Monterey to allow marijuana sales in the city or on the festival grounds. That is not the case this year. In partnership with Embarc, a leader in California’s cannabis industry, Cali Roots announced “The Smoke Show,” an immersive cannabis experience that provides for onsite cannabis sales and consumption through safe, regulated experiences that allow consumers and the curious to learn about the state’s diverse pot market.

“We have been working with the city of Monterey for some time on this,” Sheehan said. “Embarc is our partner on this portion of the event and they’ve been great to work with.”

Public art is placed around the festival and lighted trees among other things create a beautiful environment that adds to the natural beauty inherent at the fairgrounds. Interactive art installations are located in a dedicated space where chosen vendors also display and sell their art. Like all festivals there is food and alcohol available for purchase and all kinds of vendors selling wares that are in sync with what Cali Roots is all about.

Some of the things festival goers should be aware of is primarily the requirement of carrying your festival gear in clear bags or backpacks. To enter the fairgrounds you need to comply with this. On the event website under General Info you’ll find the list of the dos and don’ts and there is a section on the Clear Bag Policy. Small clutch purses are allowed but will be searched at the gate as well as anything else festival security deems as necessary.

The festival site has numerous ATMs and there are lockers for purchase where you can store festival gear during the event, either single-day or full event use. The fairgrounds has switched to cashless payments, so mostly bars and some merch areas where you can use a number of cashless options besides credit cards. Some food and craft vendors still take cash. All the details and more are on the website.

There are water refill stations so bring your own empty containers or buy a Cali Roots bottle onsite. The Good Vibez Presents organization is committed to incorporating sustainability practices in the festival’s operations. They align with other like-minded organizations, making earth-wise choices regarding the products used at the event.

Tickets are still available for advance purchase online or at the gates. The Monterey Fair & Event Center is located at 2004 Fairgrounds Road, Monterey.

Wave Street Studios above Cannery Row in Monterey isn’t fully realized yet after getting the green light from the city to make the longstanding business into a mixed-use space. Meanwhile there are a number of events coming together available for the public to attend right now. One is a VIP pre-party before Cali Roots presented by Stoners Party marking the first of many Reggae on the Row events, Thursday from 7-10 p.m.

Musical guest I-Taweh is a Jamaican-born reggae artist who will be introducing tracks from his anticipated new album, “Musically Speaking!” Band members are drummer Alton “Sandra” Vanhorne, guitarist Walker Pillow, and drummer/percussionist Kenneth Porter. I-Taweh and his live band are kicking off a world tour and will be supporting this special event where you will have the opportunity to meet and connect with the business owners and makers who are part of Equity Trade Networks Legacy Market Tour. For the first time ever, they will be popping up at Cali Roots, bringing their unique products and services to the festival.

The ticket includes the SP Club House & Listening Lounge, open at Wave Street Studios 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. Folks can come and hang out, kick back and relax and get into the cool vibes at the location. There’s Jamaican food, vegan donuts, craft cocktails, beer and wine available. All backed by a lo-fi and reggae curated playlist. Those who are coming from out of town can enjoy all the sights and sounds within walking distance to include Monterey Bay Aquarium, Lovers Point, Cannery Row, and downtown Monterey. Doors open for the live music at 6 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.stonersparty.com/event-details/reggae-on-the-row-caliroots-vip-pre-party, $30 for one, two-ticket bundle for $50, and a four-ticket bundle for $90, plus service fee.

Saturday at Wave Street Studios is the premiere episode of “In the House with Dennis Murphy” featuring singer Tony Lindsay, the longest-tenured lead singer with the band Santana. He won 11 Grammy Awards as a band member during the huge success of the recording “Supernatural.” He left Santana in 2015.

And y’all know who Dennis Murphy is, right? One of our shining star bass/guitar players, music school owner, and Grammy-nominated artist who boasts a performance resume that includes the Greg Kihn Band, Billy Preston, Maria Muldaur and many others. Murphy’s “In the House” house band features Eddie M. from Prince and The Revolution on saxophone, Joe Heinemann from Robben Ford’s ensemble on keyboards, Joe Johnson on bass, Sam Nilsson on guitar, Skylar Campbell on drums, Michael Martinez on piano, and Janice Perl, vocals.

During the show, Murphy will interview Lindsay, similar to the concept on shows like Live at Daryl’s House or A Little Night Music with Dave Sanborn. The live concert takes place in the studio sound stage that seats a live audience for the recording and broadcast of the show. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., food and a variety of beverages to include beer, wine and signature cocktails will be available. Show time is 7 p.m. Seating is limited to 65 in studio for $45 (sold-out), with 35 outdoor courtyard seats at $25 where the show will be displayed on a large screen monitor. Tickets at the door will be $65. Available in advance on Eventbrite.

Visit https://sites.google.com/view/wavestreetstudios/home for information on more concerts this weekend (Sunday, Just Jazz Monterey Presents COEXIST for two shows, 7 & 8:30 p.m., $15 — $30), or future events.

And do check out the Golden State Theatre’s website, www.goldenstatetheatre.com for details on Friday’s concert with The Wallflowers, and Leslie Mendelson, show time 8 p.m.