Published by San Antonio Current on Thu, Feb 6, 2025. By Jeph Duarte.
From Tejano to country, brown-eyed soul to heavy metal, San Antonio is a music town with deep roots and dedicated fans.
However, reggae is one genre that doesn’t readily jump to mind when it comes to the Alamo City.
Budding singer-bandleader Sgt. Remo, 48, is on a mission to change that.
While Juarez, Mexico, Sgt. Remo’s birthplace, and El Paso, where he attended high school, may not seem like reggae hotbeds either, that’s where a friend turned him on to the genre.
“The story of struggle, the story of hardship, the story of poverty — those are the things that drew me in. I just connected with it,” he said. “I’ve been listening to reggae since then. It just became my life.”
On Saturday, Feb. 8, Sgt. Remo and his band the Vibratones will kick off the 2025 San Antonio Coffee Festival at HemisFair Park with a 10 a.m. performance. It’s not his first time bringing Caribbean vibes to the event.
“We played the Coffee Fest a couple of times before through the years,” he said. “I think [the organizers] do a great job of reaching out to all the local talent and giving everybody an opportunity to play.”
Sgt. Remo was initially drawn to reggae by the distinctive ’80s dancehall sounds of Shabba Ranks and Buju Banton, and his vocal style draws heavily on toasting, or speaking over the beat — a style similar to rap. However, the Vibratones’ instrumentation is steeped in the more organic sound of rocksteady and roots reggae, popularized by elder statesmen Burning Spear and Steel Pulse.
It’s stylistic fusion that’s evolved over time, Sgt. Remo explained.
“Eventually, I as I got to know more about the history of reggae music and some the great artists, I felt more comfortable doing real reggae music,” he said.
From fan to artist
At first, Sgt. Remo had no real interest in performing, being more than happy to enjoy the music as. fan. But during in his time in the U.S. Navy, he met guys from Guyana and Jamaica who shared his affinity for reggae. As they made recordings for fun in their spare time, the creative process unlocked his interest in pursuing music more seriously.
By the time Sgt. Remo retired in 2014 in San Antonio, the last place he was stationed, the transformation from enthusiast to artist was complete.
“The reggae community is fairly small, so when I came to San Antonio, I had some contacts,” he said. “And as soon as I got here, I started playing.”
Within a year, Sgt. Remo was spreading his talent through regular live shows around the community.
“In the beginning, it was more like dancehall, a little bit more hip-hop aligned,” he said. “The music was fun — it was party music, it wasn’t really spiritual. It was young-people music for the club, for the party.”
However, Sgt. Remo became a father and discovered his daughter’s passion for the music mirrored his own. As he observed her singing along, he reevaluated his direction, altering his writing to become what he describes as “more respectful.”
He also shifted his musical approach away from a digitally oriented style and embraced sounds more rooted in the sound of traditional reggae performed with a live band. The Vibratones bring together some of the city’s best reggae musicians, including Sgt. Remo’s son on trumpet and trombone.
Sgt. Remo said the live experience is the culmination of his effort to spread a positive message through music. He sees himself not just a band leader but an ambassador for reggae culture.
”I’m becoming more aware of the world and how we fit into it,” he said. “You can see that maturing in my music.”
International following
These days, Sgt. Remo is recognized as a roots-reggae artist with socially conscious lyrics. While San Antonio remains his home base, his musical reach has grown internationally.
The singer has toured Mexico and last year branched out into Colombia. Most recently, he traveled to Chile to record in collaboration with producer Kutral Dub and complete a short tour of that country.
“It is a responsibility of mine to try and share some of the things I’ve learned. You know, reggae music is much more than just entertainment. It can actually serve a purpose,” Sgt. Remo said. “It’s been present for generations and different movements, and I understand the power of it. So, I try to make music that is going to uplift people.”
In 2011, Sgt. Remo began serving as executive producer for Reggae SoulJahs Worldwide, a series of compilation releases that recently dropped its fifth volume. What’s more, he operates a YouTube channel showcasing his own recordings along with those of artists from King Remo Music, the label he created.
From 7-9 p.m. every Friday, he hosts Reggae Sessions Radio on 90.1 KSYM-FM, and he recently signed on to curate a new reggae show for KPSARadio.com.
As if all that isn’t keeping him busy enough, he owns and operates his own screen printing company and operates a custom sound system.
“It’s part of a bigger goal to really reach a mass audience,” Sgt. Remo said of his busy schedule. “We’re gonna take this music to another level. That’s the vision.”
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