This Boston-based alternative trio was founded by singer/songwriter Chad Urmston (also a member of the Vermont jamband Dispatch) in 2002. Urmston disbanded Dispatch earlier that same year at the height of the group's popularity and began pouring his energy into State Radio. The former has since reunited, but that has not stopped latter's awesome onslaught of reggae-inspired indie rock. The State Radio sound is a marked departure from Dispatch's folk-and-jam-based formula. Radio is a mixture of roots, reggae, ska, punk, and straight-forward rock. Since its inception a decade ago, the band has released a slew of EPs and live recordings, as well as four solid studio efforts, the most recent of which, "Rabbit Inn Rebellion," came out earlier this year.

State Radio performs Saturday, December 1, 8 p.m. at Water Street Music Hall, 204 N. Water St. $17-$20. 325-5600, waterstreetmusic.com.