Exclusive Meet & Greet Receptions Expand to 19 Cities with Proceeds Going Toward Ghetto Youths Foundation
Mystic Marley Opens Select Dates in March
On February 25, the eight-time GRAMMY®-winning musician Stephen “Ragga” Marley will kick off an intimate acoustic U.S. tour in support of his latest 5-track EP, One Take: Acoustic Jams, released November 2018 on the Marley family’s Ghetto Youths International imprint. For one month, the 23-city run will span the South, Southwest and West Coast. Continue reading →
Julian Junior Marvin of Bob Marley’s Wailers at Philly’s Ardmore Music Hall, Feb. 1, 2019
By M. Peggy Quattro
February brought the kick-off of Julian Junior Marvin’s “Message of Love” tour 2019. The famed Wailers lead guitarist presented two sold out shows in Philadelphia (Feb. 1) and Washington, DC (Feb. 2). The band of talented musicians and singers were warmly welcomed inside Philly’s Ardmore Music Hall and DC’s Hamilton Live.
Featured on stage with Junior Marvin are Drix Hill and Samuel “Earth” Maxwell on keys, Dino Yeonas on guitar, Stephen Samuels on bass, Ken Joseph on drums, Brother Fitzroy James on percussion, and harmony songbirds Simone Gordon and Hassanah Iroegbu.
Both shows were billed as Bob Marley Birthday Celebrations and the fans and friends who joined in the party were not disappointed. From “Exodus” and “Could You Be Loved” to “Waiting in Vain” and “Three Little Birds” and all the favorites in between, Junior delivered a passionate and personal performance, telling the audience BMW stories and encouraging sing-alongs.
My Response to “Where Have All the Music Magazines Gone?”
Aaron Gilbreath| Longreads | Dec. 2018
By M. Peggy Quattro
Reggae Report International Magazine began as a one-page newsletter in 1983. However, my interest in, and commitment to, spreading the music and message began years earlier. One day, I promised myself, I would do all that I could to get the word out to a world of fans I knew were there – fans ready for and waiting for Reggae.
Remember, Reggae, as most of the universe knows it today, was born in Jamaica in the late 60s-early 70s, proudly rising on the shoulders of Ska and Rocksteady. 1983 was considered to be in the early stages of this Reggae phenomenon. I knew branching out was going to be a long, hard road to hoe…but hey, let’s get started! Continue reading →
Miami’s “Bad Boys” Nominated for ’94 Grammy
by Sara Gurgen
They won the Grammy for best 1993 Reggae album, and now Inner Circle–Miami’s world famous, hard-working “Bad Boys” of Reggae–have been nominated for the 1994 Grammy with their latest Big Beat/Atlantic release, Reggae Dancer.
“It’s doing excellent, man, everywhere in the world; and when I mean excellent, I mean excellent,” said band leader and rhythm guitarist, Roger Lewis, in a recent Miami interview during a brief respite from Inner Circle’s hectic touring schedule. “It is one of the biggest selling foreign albums in Japan. Over 300,000 albums [have sold] in Japan [as of Dec. 21]. Hundreds of thousands in Mexico. In Brazil, in Europe–very well. In America, it’s not doing too bad. I think we made it up to about 200,000 copies.”
One of the most satisfying cuts on Canadian DJ Snow’s new release, Murder Love, is a tale of his love affair with Reggae music called “Dream.” Here Snow reminisces about his days in Toronto’s Allenbury housing project, where he first became acquainted with Reggae through the friendships formed with the many Jamaicans who had moved into his area: Listen Shabba Ranks playing faintly from the speaker/I would eat mi curry chicken, that’s my favorite supper/If you think mi joke or lie, gwaan ask me mother/I would living on the island sweet, sweet Jamaica/Fish with Coco Tea down in the river/Hanging at the ghetto with me boy they call Ninja/No, but it’s only a dream.Continue reading →
Pato Banton and I are sitting atop the roof of the club where he is scheduled to perform in a few hours. Rather than conduct our interview in a stuffy tour bus or shout over the sound check taking place below, he obliges as I lead him through a cluttered storage room and up a make-shift ladder better suited for an acrobat than one of the most recognized names in Reggae. Below us, the seven members of his band, The Reggae Revolution, are tuning up and, one by one, joining in on a smoldering Dub of “Satta Amassagana.” We are watching a beautiful, and especially long, Santa Barbara sunset as the moon climbs high over the Pacific Ocean a few blocks away. He is nearing the end of an extensive three-month tour and looks forward to spending some time at home with his wife and two children, who are back in England. A few weeks away from his 33rd birthday, he seems as energetic and upful as ever.
Energetic and upful seem to define Pato Banton. He is like a constant whirlwind of touring and recording. As we sat down to talk, he is finishing up yet another North America tour, promoting a greatest hits package called Collections for long-time label, I.R.S. Records, and anticipating the worldwide release of the video for the album’s first song, “Baby Come Back” (a duet with bredren Robin and Ali Campbell of UB40).
A Conversation with his Mother… Cedella Marley Booker
Bob Marley: The Legend Lives On
By M. Peggy Quattro
(RR Publisher MPQ shares her 1st interview with Ms. B at her home in 1984) (A link to a portion of the interview audio is below!)
Mother Booker & MPeggyQ
Walking around the grounds surrounding the great house in southwest Miami, you sense the peace and comfort Bob found there. MOTHER B, looking radiant and youthful following a loss of 60 odd pounds, cheerfully discusses her own interesting part in this lingering legend.
“In this great future, you can’t forget your past … so dry your tears I say…” (No Woman No Cry)
I listen attentively as MOTHER B proudly points to her growing garden explaining what is there… “there’s calaloo and sugar cane, a yam hill and pumpkin patch.” As she speaks you detect the knowledge, wisdom and love this woman has for the growing of food. And so it should be . . . as the daughter of a well-respected and gentle farmer, Mrs. B grew to learn and love planting and farming. Born and raised in St. Ann’s, a rural [Jamaican] parish, a youthful Cedella worked hard with her brothers and sisters in the field high up in the village of Rhoden Hall (Nine Mile). This is where BOB was born February 6, 1945, and it was at some point a few years later the two of them packed off for a new life “to town” (Kingston). Continue reading →
