WTOP
It’s been called an “under the radar” alternative to events like Coachella and Lollapalooza, but music fans and bands from around the world will soon head to Hampton, Virginia, for the Supernova International Ska Festival, Sept. 15 through Sept. 17.
“Ska music is a precursor to reggae,” from Jamaica, said Supernova co-founder Tim Receveur. “In our festival we include everything from ska and rock steady to early reggae.”
Started in 2014 in Fredericksburg, Virginia, the festival has relocated as its become more popular. In 2021, as live music events were battered by the coronavirus pandemic, Supernova International was held at a brewery and included a livestream.
Enmeshed in the punk and new wave music of the late 1970s and early 1980s, overseas bands like The Specials, Madness, The English Beat, and Bad Manners spawned U.S. bands including Fishbone — one of the headliners, Receveur said.
