Pepper brings Kona Town to Ace of Spades in March

The Hawaii-born reggae-rock trio plays Ace of Spades on Saturday, March 20, with labelmates Tunnel Vision.

It's November, the first real rain is coming, and Pepper just handed Sacramento a reason to think about spring. The reggae-rock trio has announced a Saturday night at Ace of Spades in March — the kind of show that turns a downtown club into a backyard barbecue for a few hours.

Pepper plays Ace of Spades on Saturday, March 20, 2027, at 7 p.m., with Tunnel Vision opening. Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster. The date was announced Nov. 2, and the room holds about 1,000.

Pepper's story starts a long way from the Valley. The band formed in Kailua-Kona) on Hawaii's Big Island in the mid-1990s and is now based in San Diego. The lineup has stayed remarkably steady: vocalist and guitarist Kaleo Wassman, vocalist and bassist Bret Bollinger, and drummer Yesod Williams. Their debut, *Give'n It*, came out on Volcom, and the record that made them was 2002's *Kona Town*), named for their hometown, which peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's Reggae Albums chart.

That album still anchors the band's identity. A few years ago, Pepper took a Twenty Years of *Kona Town* tour on the road, and the band has kept releasing music since, including 2019's *Local Motion*, its eighth studio album. Along the way, as Qobuz notes, records like 2013's self-titled album and 2016's *Ohana* found the band leaning further into a modern pop sound.

The kind of show that turns a downtown club into a backyard barbecue for a few hours.

The opener is no stranger to the band. Tunnel Vision came along as special guests and labelmates on Pepper's 2025 Small Kine Tour, as The Pier reported when that run was announced, so this pairing has some road miles on it already. In a scene where support slots are often an afterthought, a familiar opener tends to mean a smoother night and an earlier crowd.

Ace of Spades is a natural fit. At about 1,000 capacity it's big enough for a band with two-plus decades of fans and small enough to keep the energy in the room — and reggae-rock, more than most genres, is built for a packed floor singing along to choruses everybody already knows.

Practicalities: it's a 7 p.m. Saturday start, so the openers will be on early. Shows at this size can sell through as the date approaches, especially on a weekend, so if *Kona Town* was the soundtrack to a summer of yours, don't wait until March.

Sacramento gets its share of reggae-rock, but Pepper is one of the bands that helped define the sound. Mark the calendar, and let the spring start a little early.

Sources: Pepper (band) — Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org); Kona Town (album) — Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org); Pepper announces Twenty Years of Kona Town tour date at The Wilma — Logjam Presents (logjampresents.com); Pepper — Qobuz (qobuz.com); Pepper announce Small Kine Tour with Tunnel Vision and Vana Liya — The Pier (thepier.org); Pepper at Ace of Spades — Ticketmaster (ticketmaster.evyy.net); Pepper at Ace of Spades — JamBase (jambase.com)