Pato Banton Leads Folsom’s Only Reggae Festival, Returning Saturday

Pato Banton gave Folsom reggae fans the clearest reason to make the drive, anchoring a full-day festival that turned Digger and Sharon Williams Rodeo Park into the city’s only reggae-focused music gathering. The Friends of Folsom Framily Festival mixed roots music, food vendors, beer, local crafts and fundraising from noon to 10 p.m., giving the rodeo park a very different kind of Saturday crowd.

The lineup leaned on names with real pull across Northern California. Banton, the internationally known reggae artist long associated with positivity, unity and spiritual awareness, sat at the top of a bill that also featured Arden Park Roots, the Sacramento-area act known for blending reggae with rock, hip-hop and alternative influences. Lot 49, Garden Groove, Eazy Dub, Skinny Hendrix and The Bennys rounded out a roster that ranged from roots-minded grooves to reggae-rock energy and local scene heat.

That mix is part of why the festival has started to feel like more than another date on the calendar. Presented by Friends of Folsom in partnership with Garden Groove, the event marked its third year and kept pushing the same community-first identity: a grassroots day built around good music, good people and a charitable mission. In a town better known for broader suburban events and the rodeo setting itself, the reggae festival has carved out its own lane.

The setting sharpened the contrast. Digger and Sharon Williams Rodeo Park is not a club or a beachfront lawn, but a rodeo park, and that is exactly what gives the gathering its character. The open-air space offered room for a long afternoon of sets, vendor browsing and casual mingling, with the whole event designed as an all-day outdoor experience rather than a quick concert stop.

Weather only sweetened the pitch. Sunny conditions and temperatures in the mid-70s promised the kind of easy April backdrop that can turn a local booking into a regional draw. With a recognizable headliner, a Sacramento-heavy support cast and a format that blended live music with food, shopping and charitable support, the festival looked less like a one-off and more like a community fixture taking root in Folsom’s weekend rhythm.