Bob Marley 80 celebrations pick up steam
The global party to celebrate Bob Marley’s 80th birthday started on January 12 at the reggae king’s Tuff Gong studios in Kingston.
Mortimer, Bugle, Kumar Fyah, Naomi Cowan, Quan Dajai, Kelly Shane, and Alexx A-Game gave performances that were streamed on Tuff Gong Radio (SiriusXM Ch. 19).
Their 15-minute tributes will be part of the Uprising 80 concert on February 6, Marley’s birthday.
Julia Vaz, a spokesperson for Tuff Gong International, told the Jamaica Observer’s Splash that there is a stacked itinerary for the big day.
“There are different people around the world who are celebrating his birthday in different ways, so we need to share with them,” said Vaz.
That includes an acoustic show starting at noon at the Marley Museum on Hope Road where Yohan Marley, Hezron, Ras I, and Christopher Ellis will give unplugged performances.
Fans at the venue also get an opportunity to engage with Marley. who died in 1981, through an interactive medium.
A live concert, scheduled for Emancipation Park, will follow the museum festivities. Acts for that event will be announced soon.
Other activities planned are Movie Night on Thursdays during February at the museum. Independent films, to be announced, will be shown.
There is also an exhibition by Los Angeles-based, French street artist Mr Brainwash, whose radical depictions of pop culture icons have been shown in that city New York, London, and Toronto.
Uprising 80 is a nod to Uprising, Marley’s last studio album, which was released by Island Records in June 1980. That set includes songs such as Bad Card, Forever Loving Jah, Redemption Song, and Could You Be Loved, an uptempo pop track the singer/songwriter was counting on to break him in the elusive black American market.
