This Venezuelan reggae band from Caracas began performing around 2007, slowly gathering a local following. Signed by World Music Madness, Rawayana appeared at the Festival Nuevas Bandas in 2010, sharing the stage with names such as Melendi or El Cuarteto de Nos. Their debut album, Licencia para Ser Libre, was released the following year, earning the band several end-of-year-list accolades. Its 2013 follow-up, Rawayanaland, included collaborations with José Luis Pardo (from Los Amigos Invisibles), Natalia Lafourcade, and MC Klopedia. Rawayana began to attract international recognition with their third album, Trippy Caribbean (2016), and spent most of 2017 touring in the United States, Europe, and Latin America. ~ Mariano Prunes