Review | Slightly Stoopid Bring Their Summer Tour Back to Santa Barbara

The eager crowd at the Santa Barbara Bowl was more than ready for rock and reggae band Slightly Stoopid to come out onstage. Part of their summer 2024 tour, the Santa Barbara show on October 6 drew in a crowd of people ranging from die-hard fans to people who only recently discovered their music. But as music started, people excitedly rose to their feet to sway along to the music.

The show opened with Fortunate Youth and then Tribal Seeds, both reggae bands that warmed up the crowd that poured into the seats and pit. Slightly Stoopid duo Miles Doughty and Kyle McDonald started the band and the crowd with “Bandelero” as visuals erupted on the screen behind them. It was hard not to nod along as they danced around the stage, occasionally trading instruments with one another. The trumpet and saxophone behind them in particular stood out more and more throughout the night, with a couple saxophone solos later in the night.

The stage decor itself matched the band’s energy. Trippy visuals that walk the audience through canyons, cities, fields, and coasting along the ocean accompanied the two towering skeletons on each end of the band, with the skeletons occasionally blowing smoke out of their mouths.

Right before playing “Young Girl,” Doughty and McDonald introduced Jamaican reggae singer and composer Don Carlos, much to the crowd’s delight. Chalie 2na also joined Slightly Stoopid for “Higher Now” and “Hands High.” And as the latter song’s name suggests, Chalie 2na was quick to get the audience back to their feet, swaying hands back and forth.

For “Got Me on the Run” the band had the stage lights all turned off and asked the audience to turn on their phone flashlights. The band continued to play through the song and could still be seen with all of the lights swaying in their direction.

“Collie Man” and “Waiting” were paired with ocean visuals before they brought Don Carlos back out for a couple more songs. The laser lights that had been accompanying the beat of the songs throughout the night cut through the air above the crowd, revealing smoke from the skeletons onstage and the audience. As they concluded their set with grateful thank you’s to the band members, the openers, and the audience, the crowd — especially in the pit — seemed to cheer louder, hoping for the band to return again.

Whether or not you’re familiar with Slightly Stoopid’s discography, their shows will have you and everyone around swaying to the music and feeling like you’re up in the clouds just having a good time.