Reggae icon Toots and the Maytals kicks of the first leg of his Do the Reggae world tour this month, celebrating the 40th anniversary recording of Do the Reggae which has been credited for giving the genre its name.

The initial North American leg of the tour will include sold out dates in New York's BB Kings and Cleveland's House of Blues as well as Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre. Bookings are being finalised for the European and return North American legs which will run throughout the summer.

Considered one of Jamaican music's greatest living legends and an internationally respected music innovator and performer, Toots & the Maytals has proven over time, to be one of the most prolific talents to ever emerge from Jamaica having contributed significantly over the last 40 years to the growth of Reggae as a genre and internationally as a global phenomenon.

The International Reggae Day Festival will also commemorate Reggae's 40th as marked by the milestone recording, with a special IRD Do the Reggae concert performance of Toots and the Maytals in Europe to be streamed on the festival's website to anchor this year's virtual reggae party on July 1.

Additionally, a special re-recording of the song originally produced by Leslie Kong and released on Beverly's Records, will be released by the newly established Toots Foundation on July 1 as part of this year's virtual media celebrations.

Known as the man who put the soul in the music and the 'R' in Reggae, Toots and the Maytals continues to record and release new material including video singles Johnny Cool from his recently nominated Grammy album Light Your Light and Don't Badda Me with Macka Diamond released on the D&F Productions label.

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