Magicomundo will bring the poetry of the Valencian Vicent Andrés Estellés to children, while the Teen Yard will host the final of the rising stars battle, ‘Rototom Special Edition’.

Tomorrow, the artist Macaco will be at the forefront of the experience based on movement, dance and singing ‘Dub Tai Sing, by Macaco’, one of the novelties that Pachamama brings to the festival.

From hip hop to the most mystical reggae or the presentation of the youngest generation of the Marley saga. The lion’s roar of the Rototom Sunsplash will once again sound with a vengeance on the third day of the international reggae festival, which on Sunday, 18th August, will bring together names such as The Congos The Gladiators, Groundation, Skip Marley and, on from the national scene, SFDK from Seville.

As far as the extra-musical agenda is concerned, the 2024 Social Forum will take the path of decarbonisation in order to tackle the climate emergency. The poetry of Vicent Andrés Estellés will be fully present in the voice of the Valencian poet Carles Cano at Magicomundo, while the Teen Yard will host the final of the Rototom Special Edition battle of rising stars, whose winner will perform at the 30th anniversary of the festival in 2025. The artist Macaco will also give a workshop on dub and tai chi at Pachamama.

The Congos Gladiators will open the Main Stage line-up on Sunday 18th at 8pm. Their fusion materialises the legend of the classic Jamaican sound. Roots reggae also clearly evident on the reflective and mystical style of the Californian band Groundation, who come to Rototom with a special show around ‘Hebron Gate’, the work that consecrated them years ago.

Skip Marley, Bob Marley’s grandson, joins the Main Stage, from where he will project the family’s musical tradition and his grandfather’s vibrations in an original style, at the head of his first European tour. The Marley saga is once again present at Rototom Sunsplash in a special edition, in the year of the premiere of ‘One Love’, the documentary about the life and career of the Jamaican legend.

The opening of the festival to hip-hop music is embodied by the presence on the Main Stage of Zatu and Acción Sánchez from Seville, the alma mater of SFDK, who will continue celebrating their 30-year career on 18th August in Benicàssim, consolidating them as the longest-running rap band on the national scene. The acronym SFDK, which stands for ‘Siempre Fuerte De Konciencia’ (Always Strong Of Conscience), makes them one of the most incisive Spanish hip hop crews. Formed in the early 90s in Seville, the group has evolved within the genre, always maintaining the militancy of their lyrics. Their latest work ‘Inkebrantable’ (2023), is one of their most mature works. Rototom Sunsplash will be an opportunity to see them before their announced temporary retirement from the stage.

The Lion Stage will rise to the Colombian cumbia of Lxs Nadie from Barcelona, the city from where Pure Negga is from, a young promise of dancehall reggae and a viral phenomenon since the pandemic thanks to his live sessions with dancehall and hip-hop artists. The stage will also welcome the visual staging of the young Venezuelan artist Gotopo, with her fusion of the ancestral elements of pre-Columbian and African rhythms in the futuristic context of electronic music.

French producer Manudigital, known for his revival style of the digital sound produced in Jamaica between the late 1980s and early 1990s, completes the evening’s line-up on the Lion Stage, where he will be joined by MC Dapatch.

Stylo G, an exponent of Jamaican-style dancehall and one of the genre’s most beloved artists, will be one of the names of the night at the DanceHall area. Meanwhile, the English crew Room In The Sky and their selection of exclusive label classics, enriched by the voice of Jamaican artist Donovan Kingjay, will be playing at the Dub Academy.

On Sunday 18th, the Jamkunda Stage will host another of the stage’s novelties: AfroCommunity, a special evening with all the collectives participating in this edition of the festival to celebrate the new Afro music. From AfroBrunch to Oyofe, Follow the Party and Zsongo4, alongside the Nigerians Shopsydoo and Dj SoGood as special guests from London.

The Social Forum to debate the end of oil dependency

On 18th August, the Social Forum will address one of the biggest problems challenging humanity: the planning of the end of dependence on oil and the advance towards decarbonisation. A key challenge of the 2030 Agenda on which experts such as Héctor Dominguis, Materials Engineer, CEO of the GDES group and President of the Lab Mediterráneo Foundation; and Andreu Escrivà, PhD in Biodiversity, environmentalist and climate change project technician, will give their views and alternatives to guarantee sustainable development and the preservation of the planet. Patrici Calvo, professor and doctor of Moral Philosophy at the Universitat Jaume I of Castelló, will present the session: ‘The paths to decarbonisation: living in the countdown’. This debate will take place, as all the talks of the Social Forum, at the Teatre Municipal de Benicàssim at 17.30 and will have free access.

The Reggae University analyses the dancehall scene with Manudigital and Stylo G

Manudigital, Stylo G and Skarra Mucci will jump into the Reggae University, from the Lion Stage and the DanceHall area, to tackle the broad spectrum of the contemporary dancehall scene. Following the format of each session, the film ‘Bad like Brooklyn Dancehall, by Ben Digiacomo and Dutty Vannier will be premiered. An analysis of the preservation of key elements of the culture through artists, sound systems and dances in the New York underground. In addition, for the first time, the Reggae University will feature representatives from the Spanish scene: the duo of producers Iseo Dodosound from Navarra will share with the audience on 18th August, the day after their show on the Main Stage, stories about their two decades of musical career mixing reggae, dub and hip hop in the talk ‘Twin Cats Style. The Story of Iseo Dodosound’.

The workshop ‘Dub Tai Sing, by Macaco’ lands at Pachamama

Pachamama will host the active meditation meeting ‘Dub Tai Sing. By Macaco‘, which will be led by the renowned artist from Barcelona. It will be an experience to connect through movement, dance and singing (with positive affirmations), through the bases of the sound system.