The Slackers from NYC return to the Flamingo Cantina for our annual ‘Slackfest South’! Three nights of Ska, Reggae Soul, and RocknRoll from the Slackers, each night is a different set. The Slackers have been touring the world for 32 years now, but they return every year to Austin, Texas to the Flamingo Cantina, a venue and scene that was so supportive to them on their first US tour way back when.

For 33 years, the NYC-based and critically acclaimed Slackers have been touring the world with their blend of Ska, Reggae, and Soul

Since 1991, the Slackers have released fifteen albums and countless singles, while their 1000s of live performances feed their fans with energetic sets of ecstatic music.

The Slackers have been called ‘the Sound of New York’ by the New York Times. They were described by Brooklyn Vegan as a“ clean mix of Ska, Reggae, and Soul that gets dirtied up by Vic Ruggiero’s tough New York accent.’

In April 2022, The Slackers released a new album, “Don’t Let The Sunlight Fool Ya” (Pirates Press) which quickly shot to the top of the US Billboard charts. The first time that a Slackers’ album has charted! Ironically after 30 years as a band, they qualified as a Billboard ‘new artist!’ The Washington Post noted that the Slackers “remain at the top of their game.”

The chart topping sales of “Don’t Let The Sunlight Fool Ya” capped a 2 year comeback of the Slackers. When Covid stopped live shows in 2020, the Slackers pivoted to livestreams and made5 full band concerts that were broadcast internationally to an audience of thousands. After the streams, they stayed in the studio and recorded the tunes that became ‘Don’t Let the Sunlight Fool Ya.’

The Slackers capped this come back with a series of frenetic tours in 2022 and 2023. They played everything from clubs to festivals in the USA, Canada, Europe, and Brazil.

In 2024, they are currently booking 90 shows. They are also currently working on a 20th anniversary reissue of their classic album, ‘Close My Eyes’ for September and on a new single of original music for October.

Starting in Gainesville FL in 2007, Micah Shalom formed a band of ska, reggae, and world musicians to play his brand of original and cover music from these genres. Over the years refining his sound to flow between all 3 genres seamlessly, encapsulating the audience to dance, listen, and enjoy the different beats and melodies . Micah Shalom and his band The Peaceful Brothers now reside in Austin TX with a cast of diverse musical backgrounds.

Backing artists such as Cedric IM Brooks and Kevin Batchelor of The Skatalites, and Grammy Award Winner Calton Coffie of Inner Circle, The Micah Shalom crew cut their teeth learning to play Jamaican reggae and ska, traveling with Calton Coffie to perform in Jamaica and playing a number of shows in the US with Cedric IM Brooks and Kevin Batchelor. Although the great saxophonist Cedric IM Brooks has transitioned, Kevin Batchelor, who now tours the world with the New York Ska Jazz Ensemble, has remained one of the artists the band regularly performs with.

Micah Shalom has also shared the stage with many international artists performing trumpet, valve trombone and vocals, including Chezidek, Spiritual, General Smiley, I-Taweh, Ed Robinson, The Skatalites, Apple Gabriel (Israel Vibration), Calton Coffie (Inner Circle), Mikey Dread (Dread At The Controls), Lynval Golding (The Specials) and Sister Nancy.

Members of The Peaceful Brothers play in many Austin bands including Cilantro Boombox, Shiny Ribs, Golden Dawn Arkestra, Superfonicos, Don Chani, Lion Heights, Mau Mau Chaplains, Atlas Maior and more. Micah Shalom proudly plays Austin Winds Instruments and appears as a featured artist on their website.