In what is being billed the “Woodstock of Reggae,” some of that genre’s most legendary artists will share the stage at Bayside Rocks Festival, a daylong event at Miami’s Bayfront Park on Saturday, Nov. 20.
Bunny Wailer, Steel Pulse, Toots & Maytals, Midnite, Cultura Profetica and the “Electric Slide” Queen herself, Marsha Griffiths, are scheduled to appear at the festival, a benefit concert for Voices United, a local non-profit that exposes youth to the arts.
“It’s good to still be making good songs,” Wailer, a multiple Grammy Award winner, said in an interview.
Festival attendees can expect a great show, said the enduring reggae superstar who was an original member of the Wailers. He and the late legendary singer were raised in the same household as stepbrothers.
Besides performing “as often as I am invited,” Wailer said, he is in the midst of creating something special for fans.
“I’m getting ready to establish the Wailers in a manner that a lot of people” will appreciate, said Wailer, whom Newsweek magazine named “one of the three most important musicians in world music.”
Fans may be surprised to know that the infectious One Love was “written, produced and sung by the Wailers in 1965,” before being reworked and released on their 1977 Exodus album.
The core of the group included Wailer, Marley and Peter Tosh. Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso and Cherry Smith joined later. Wailer and Kelso are the only surviving members.
The Wailers recorded timeless reggae songs Simmer Down, Trenchtown Rock, Nice Time, War, Stir It Up and Get Up, Stand Up.
After the group disbanded in 1974, each of the three main members went on to pursue successful solo careers but none as far reaching as Marley.
Marley achieved international fame with Bob Marley & The Wailers -with the Wailers Band as backing band and the I Threes, including his wife, Rita, as backing vocalists.
According to BobMarley.com, the reggae icon’s last tour with the Wailers in 1980 “attracted the largest audiences at that time for any musical act in Europe.”
Bayside Rocks will include a special tribute to reggae superstar Gregory Isaacs, who died of lung cancer on Oct. 26.
Renee Michelle Harris may be reached at RMHarris15@aol.com.
IF YOU GO:
WHAT: Bayside Rocks Festival
WHEN: 2 p.m. to midnight, Saturday, Nov. 20,
WHERE: Bayfront Park, 301 N. Biscayne Blvd., Miami
COST: General admission, $35, VIP $55.
CONTACT: For tickets or more information, call 305-763-4509, e-mail info@baysiderocksfestival.com or visit baysiderocksfestival.com.
No Comment