BOSS ROOTS SOUNDSYSTEM

BOSS ROOTS Soundsystem Resident BOSS ROOTS Soundsystem DJ John DeCarlo is an internationally nominated producer (Album of the Year: Reggae/Roots - Costa Rica, French Reggae Awards) and a world-class performer & multi instrumentalist having performed & recorded with many international artists including thousands of concerts in top venues, festivals and across 17 Countries worldwide. Uniting the community through roots music events since 2007, BOSS ROOTS began with sponsored after parties, rebranding in 2014 to feature a rotating cast of artists & DJs following major sold out concerts along with residencies and festival & club appearances. In addition to event production and DJ services, the label has grown to provide grassroots distribution, promotion and outreach for a growing number of artists and causes, spreading joy from a shared love of music.

As a guitarist John can currently be seen on numerous tour and television appearances with reggae star Mighty Mystic, headlining alongside a who's who of reggae icons at many festivals including the world reggae summit Rototom Sunsplash in Spain. John began his international touring career with 2-time Boston Music Award winner Westbound Train (Hellcat/Epitaph Records) and since has performed and/or recorded with countless international artists including the legendary Skatalites, Derrick Morgan, Mystic Bowie’s Talking Dreads, King Django, Rocker T, Dr. Ring Ding, Boubacar Diabate & Sambalolo, Satori, the Void Union, Pressure Cooker and more as well as with guest appearances with members of noteworthy bands such as the Specials, Fishbone, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Reel Big Fish, John Brown's Body, Morphine, Streetlight Manifesto, the Toasters, the Slackers, Hepcat and more. “With an eclectic mix of styles and genres, John’s DJ sets are renowned for their ability to energize a crowd and create unforgettable experiences” - Baby Bathwater Institute ________________________________________________ John DeCarlo began his DJ career following an eye-opening tour as a musician headlining 30 shows across Europe in 2007. “My first European tour was life changing- After the band played, the party was just getting started; there would be DJs playing rare traditional reggae cuts on vinyl I had never heard before every night until sunrise. By then I had toured the USA and Canada several times over and it seemed to be what was missing back home, a different level of hospitality; often we wouldn’t have to break the stage down until after breakfast!” Upon returning to the states he bought a DJ mixer, borrowed a turntable and scrapped together a sound system with whatever records & gear he could get his hands on. With a little help from his friends converted the condemned apartment in his basement into art after-hours space inspired by clubs in Europe. “We lived in a full house of musicians, a few of us were in touring reggae bands and others would rehearse in our studio in the loft of the garage out back. The after-hours parties brought our tour buddies and even more people into the fold and suddenly when we performed with artists like Eek-a-Mouse or the Skatalites, the players, friends and fans would come hang out in the ‘reggae basement’ until sunrise- It was an era that helped build community and friendships.”

The afterhours DJ sets led to being asked to do support sets spinning records at bigger clubs and to host a popular community/industry night residency featuring exclusively 60s-70s reggae, funk and soul on vinyl. By 2009 the years of events, touring and production led to extensive work with the #1 club venue & concert promoter worldwide and afterparties were revived, rebranded as the BOSS ROOTS party in 2015 and hosting a rotating cast of bands with DJs following major sold out concerts including Iration, the Movement, The Specials, Teton Gravity Research and many more. Recently John has made a number of festival & club DJ appearances as BOSS ROOTS Soundsystem, hosted a series of community events and was invited to join a small group of world class performers for several of Baby Bathwater Institute’s private island events in Croatia (as featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, Inc. magazines), curating soundtracks for the event, performing original music live and long format DJ sets until sunrise alongside members of Pretty Lights, Break Science, STS9 & more.

We hope to see you at the next BOSS ROOTS party!