diff --git a/tasks.py b/tasks.py
index e6f5bf7..1a27942 100644
--- a/tasks.py
+++ b/tasks.py
@@ -14,11 +14,12 @@ exec(open(os.path.join(here, 'src', 'wuttjamaican', '_version.py')).read())
 
 
 @task
-def release(c):
+def release(c, skip_tests=False):
     """
     Release a new version of WuttJamaican
     """
-    c.run('tox')
+    if not skip_tests:
+        c.run('tox')
 
     # rebuild local tar.gz file for distribution
     if os.path.exists('WuttJamaican.egg-info'):