Passafire started the way a lot of good bands do: two art students who kept ending up in the same room with instruments. Ted Bowne and Nick Kubley formed the band in Savannah, Georgia in 2003 while attending the Savannah College of Art and Design. The lineup settled a few years later with Nick’s brother Will Kubley on bass and vocals, and Mike DeGuzman on keys.
What sets them apart in a crowded genre is restlessness. Plenty of reggae-rock bands are content to live permanently on vacation. Passafire keeps wiring roots grooves to progressive rock structures, funk, and hip-hop. Music you can sit back into, with more going on underneath than the beach-day label suggests.
For us Ocean City fans, the connection runs even deeper. Frontman Ted Bowne calls the Ocean City area home, making Passafire feel less like a touring act and more like a hometown favorite whenever they take the stage nearby. That local tie has helped the band build a particularly loyal following on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where fans proudly claim Passafire as one of their own. You can also catch Ted on the air during the Passafire Radio Hour on Ocean 98.1 WOCM, further strengthening the band’s connection to the local community and reggae scene.
The records
Eleven albums across two decades:
- Passafire (2006)
- Submersible (2007)
- Everyone On Everynight (2009)
- Start From Scratch (2011) - hit #1 on Billboard’s Top Reggae Albums chart
- Remixed from Scratch (2012) - Remix of Start from Scratch
- Vines (2013)
- Longshot (2017)
- Longshot B Sides
- Live in Atlanta (2018)
- Strata (2021)
- Remember a Time (2023)
Along the way they’ve shared stages with 311, Slightly Stoopid, and The Wailers.
Why they’re here
Twenty-plus years is a long time for any band, and longer still for one that never took the easy version of its own sound. If you’ve only heard the singles, put on Strata or Remember a Time and hear where they’ve gone.
