sunday- roots arena

Hailing from the North-West of England, singer and composer Joe Yorke found his true love for music during his teenage years. Seduced by Punk, Folk and Reggae music, he started diving into the styles and after learning guitar he was a common sight on the streets of Wigan and Manchester busking his favourite songs. In 2006, he went to the Notting Hill Carnival and experienced the UK’s soundsystem scene for the first time. Shaken and moved by the sounds in the streets of the famous north London festival, his desire to become a part of the movement was galvanised.

He moved to Moss Side, Manchester, in his late teens and started to get fully immersed in the Dub and Reggae scene centred around the Junction pub and The Big Western. Spending his days working a day job alongside producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Eeyun Purkins, and his nights shaping songs in studios across the city a musical partnership was born. They both played in a band called “Black Star Dub Collective” and took part in weekly jam sessions in Hulme. This training ground exposed Joe to a lot of talented musicians from the local reggae community, including alumni from the legendary Jamaican Alpha Boy School. Around this time, Joe joined "Conscious Youth" and alongside his comrades met Nucleus Roots' Paul Lush, from whom they learn many valuable lessons.

Fusing live music on the one hand and soundsystem on the other, Joe Yorke embraces the full spectrum of the Reggae scene, without ever being limited by its codes. His musical foundation comes from Jamaican Rocksteady and Dub but he also takes a strong influence in Soul, Northern Soul, Folk, Dub Techno and Concrete music.

Today, Joe is based in Bristol, where he operates his own label, Rhythm Steady. Over the past few years, he has been making waves in the reggae sphere with his extraordinary vocal style. As a singer/producer, he has established a strong reputation on the soundsystem stage, leading him to perform at the Dub Camp Festival, Rototom, Boomtown, International Dub Gathering, Dub Station Festival, both No Logo Festivals, and many other events. He has recently been heard singing on stage or on soundsystems alongside Stand High Patrol, Biga*Ranx, and O.B.F. He has also shared the stage with Sister Nancy, Hollie Cook, and Johnny Osbourne...

With a discography boasting around twenty releases across various formats, including some gems recorded with The Co-Operators and several singles produced in collaboration with Stand High Patrol, Joe Yorke has also secured a significant presence in record shops and in Dj's record boxes! Following the noteworthy release of his UK Dub/UK Roots debut album "Noise And Emptines" in the autumn of 2022, he unveiled "A Distant Beat" in the spring of 2023: a second LP with Rocksteady/Roots undertones recorded with The Co-Operators. Just a few months later, in the midst of autumn 2023, he introduced a brand new live show and a third album steeped in soul influences titled "Hopeless".