The Island Sound has awarded five recipients per category in the Best of 2015 Awards.
View all the recipients.
1.Protoje
Oje Ken Ollivierre, or better known as, Protoje has been carving out his sculpture in the reggae genre for over ten-years, but 2015 has been his most successful year to date. After releasing his first two 
full-length albums in 2011 and 2013, respectively, Protoje had his most anticipated release yet with Ancient Future (March of 2015). Perhaps the biggest single released from the Ancient Future album featured a collaboration with Jamaica’s Chronixx on the track “Who Knows”. Following the release of Protoje’s Ancient Future, the album topped the Billboard Reggae Chart for over a month, and remained in the Top 10 on the Billboard Reggae Chart until September. It was not long before media outlets and mainstream popular culture were made aware of Protoje and his music. BBC in the United Kingdom listed Protoje as one of the top artists on their “Hot for 2015” list. In the United States, Protoje and fellow collaborated, Chronixx, joined together for a nationwide tour, performing along the nightclub circuit in major metropolitan cities. As 2015 came to a close, it was announced that Protoje would be making his first headlining debut at the California Roots Music and Arts Festival in Monterey, arguably the United States premier reggae music festival.
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1.
Barrington Levy – Acousticalevy
Release Date: May 5, 2015
2.
Morgan Heritage – Strictly Roots
Release Date: June 8, 2015
3.
Protoje – Ancient Future
Release Date: March 9, 2015
4.
Stick Figure – Set In Stone
Release Date: November 13, 2015
5.
Slightly Stoopid – Meanwhile…Back at the Lab
Release Date: June 29, 2015
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1. Catch A Fire Tour
In terms of a pure Reggae tour, it doesn’t get much better than seeing a Marley live and direct. But, when a tour consists of Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, Stephen “Ragga” Marley, as well as “The Royal Family of Reggae”Morgan Heritage and Tarrus Riley all on the same line-up; the tour is a runaway favorite for best of the year tour. And, if those artists were not enough, on select dates of the month long summer tour, Barrington Levy, Super Cat, Jo Mersa and Black Am I were also featured as special guests. The Catch A Fire Tour was a sold-out show in virtually every town and every venue. And, these artists performed at some of the largest outdoor venues in the United States.
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1. Sammy J
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1. Garrett Douglas – “Touchdown”
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1. SOJA – “Shadow”
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For further reading on The Island Sound: Best of 2015, follow the links below.
Best of 2015 Links
Top Five Artists
Top Five Albums
Top Five Tours
Top 5 Newcomers
Top Five Singles
Top 5 Videos