Kevin Kinsella

During his youth, Kevin Kinsella encountered the music of Bob Marley, an experience that prompted him to establish the reggae ensemble Tribulations while pursuing studies at a Boston college toward the close of the 1980s. The band issued a 45 rpm single along with two cassettes before unveiling its first full-length effort, The Gate, in 1992 and following up with Daddy Good Pieces in 1994. Tribulations also served as an opening act for Toots & the Maytals and captured the Yamaha Soundcheck competition, an achievement that arranged concert appearances in Japan. Following the ensemble’s dissolution, Kinsella launched the dub-influenced roots reggae outfit John Brown’s Body in 1995, which delivered its debut album, All Time, in 1996 via the independent I-Town Records imprint. Critical notice surrounding the record secured a contract with Shanachie, resulting in the subsequent releases Among Them in 1998, This Day in 2000, and Spirits All Around Us in 2002. Amid these activities, Kinsella issued a pair of solo projects—the acoustic folk-leaning I-Town Revival in 2000 and Firestick in 2002—while taking part in John Brown’s Body’s dub-oriented side project 10 Ft. Ganja Plant, whose inaugural album, Presents, appeared on I-Town in 2000. The group later aligned with ROIR, initiating an extended series of recordings beginning with Hillside Airstrip in 2001. Kinsella contributed to John Brown’s Body’s 2005 album Pressure Points, issued by Easy Star Records, before departing the band amicably in 2006. He maintained his involvement with 10 Ft. Ganja Plant, and his third solo outing, Great Design, surfaced on ROIR in 2011. His fourth solo album, Riding Higher, followed in 2014 on I-Town with international distribution handled by VP.