Evelyn Carridice, the sister of the late Bunny Wailer, has announced that Trench Town will officially open Reggae Month 2026 with a community-led cultural launch that will underline the importance of the contribution of the Livingston family in both The Wailers group and Trench Town’s overall musical legacy.

“A central feature of the evening is the public grounding of Second Street, Trench Town as The Wailers’ Birthplace, presented by the Livingston family—represented by me, Evelyn (Donna)Carridice, and Pearl Livingston (Claudette Livingston), daughters of Thaddeus Livingston, and inclusive of our brother Danny Livingston, the last surviving son of the siblings,” Carridice said.

The launch will be held on Sunday evening, February 1, 2026, at Joe Higgs Park, under the Trench Town Rocks banner. The Trench Town Culture Festival will be held a few days later on February 4.

The opening is presented in collaboration with the Trench Town Development Association (TTDA) and foregrounds Trench Town as a living cultural ecosystem, where heritage, family, and sound system culture converge.

Bunny Wailer

The Livingstons are clarifying the historical continuum that begins in Nine Miles, St Ann and culminates in Trench Town as the site of formation, Carridice said.

“Nine Miles is where Bunny Wailer first met Bob Marley, and where Thaddeus Livingston knew Cedella Booker. Thaddeus Livingston’s grounding as a Revival preacher, ganja farmer and trader, and urban entrepreneur informed a blended, multi-family household structure that incorporated Bob Marley into the Livingston family environment,” Carridice said.

According to Carridice, Second Street — a government-owned building— became the domestic and communal space where Neville Livingston (Bunny Wailer), Bob Marley, and Peter Tosh transitioned from individuals into The Wailers as a group.

“While the Norval Marley–Cedella Booker lineage produced Bob Marley biologically, the Thaddeus Livingston blended household produced the home, geography, and structure that enabled The Wailers’ formation,” Carridice said.

At the time of Thaddeus Livingston’s passing, 10 Darley Crescent was the sole property named in his Will. Bob Marley is acknowledged as having assisted Thaddeus Livingston in fully owning that property, which also served as an additional meeting place for The Wailers, reinforcing the Livingston family’s role in the group’s early geography.

The sound system culture forms the third pillar of the February 1 opening.

The principal sound system presentation is led by Jah Love Sound System, featuring reggae icon Ilawi, in partnership with Sound System Club under the leadership of Paul Scott.

In celebration of Trench Town’s extended sound system lineage, the evening also acknowledges Sizzla Kalonji’s King Tafari sound, included as a celebratory presence within the sound system tradition, and Skankadon Sound System, represented by Paul Scott, husband of Evelyn (Donna) Carridice, appearing in representation of the Livingston family.

Pearl Livingston will also be performing on Sunday February 1.