Ska has been in the air lately, including the release of three great new books on ska in the span of about six months: Aaron Carnes' In Defense of Ska, Marc Wasserman's Ska Boom! An American Ska & Reggae Oral History, and Kenneth Partridge's Hell of a Hat: The Rise of '90s Ska and Swing. To dive even deeper into ska, we've teamed up with all three of those authors for a virtual panel called Ska Lives! The Continued Legacy of American Ska, which will take place on October 4 at 7 PM ET on the BrooklynVegan YouTube channel.

I'll be moderating the panel, where we'll be exploring the question: why doesn’t ska get credit for being a rich, diverse genre the same way punk, metal, hip-hop and electronic music does? We'll talk about the impact that ska has had in America both before the '90s mainstream ska boom and after it, and look into the many ways that the genre still impacts people today. We'll also discuss each author's book, the genre's recent resurgence, and why this is all happening now, as well as whatever else might come up when you ask three ska experts to talk about the genre they love most.

In conjunction with the livestream, we're also offering a bundle of all three books at the reduced price of $65 for a limited time only. Pick up the bundle in our shop while it lasts, or you can also pick up each book individually.

We'll also be giving away a copy of the limited-to-100 gold vinyl edition of the new Abraskadabra album, and the winner will be announced during the livestream (and also contacted with more details). Enter via the contest widget below. The variant is available to purchase exclusively in our stores.

Set a reminder to tune in to the livestream on October 4 at 7 PM ET right here:

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For more on each book, read the Jeff Rosenstock chapter from In Defense of Ska (alongside a Q&A with Aaron), a Q&A with Marc about Ska Boom, and the 'One Nation Under Ska-Punk' chapter from Hell of a Hat.

Aaron also contributed to our recent list of 64 Essential Ska Albums from 1964 to Present.

Artwork for the Ska Lives! livestream designed by Adam Davis (of Link 80 and Omnigone), who co-hosts the In Defense of Ska podcast with Aaron.

Pick up all three books (including the limited-time bundle with all three at a reduced price) here. Also browse our selection of ska vinyl.

Enter to win a copy of the limited-to-100 gold vinyl edition of the new Abraskadabra album here:

Abraskadabra vinyl giveaway