dem roots music

Dem Roots Music. These three little words dare to define a powerful group of diverse musicians. The center and founder of the group, singer/songwriter Louis Morales, didn’t want the name to be the identification of the band, but be more about the music and the experience.

Dem first appeared in 2016 as Morales’ stage name, when he was playing gigs in his hometown of Galveston, TX. He quickly began to collect musicians into his project, leading him to today’s solid sextet: Pat Kelly (drums) and Kevin Bernier (lead guitar), Liam Haney (bass), Selphillips Taveraz (percussion), and Allison Lopez (sax).

As the world was locking down at the start of 2020, Dem joined forces with Austin musicians Dane Foltin (bass, Lion Heights), Jeremy Carlson (keys, Lion Heights), and Mario Salazar (lead guitar) to Tall Sky Studios in Austin, where they recorded their first album. Citing it as being a positive but strange experience to record during shut-down, the band quickly realized that the overarching message of the music was about understanding yourself - a phrase that everyone can relate to.

Since their formation, dem roots music has performed alongside international reggae artiste such as Stephen Marley(Jamaica), Lee Scratch Perry(Jamaica), Dread Mar I(Argentina), Gondwana(Chile), Los Pericos(Argentina), Kabaka Pyramid(Jamaica), Katchafire(New Zealand), Freddie McGregor(Jamaica), Cocoa Tea(Jamaica), and have performed at festivals such as SXSW, Bayou City Art Festival, Legendary Art Car parade, River Revival.