This May will mark 41 years since global Jamaican reggae icon Bob Marley passed away.
Marley passed away on May 6, 1981 and his music is still fresh and popular more than four decades later. His tunes are discovered by a new generation of listeners.
This year the 16th Annual Bob Marley Birthday Celebration and Food Drive Livestream will take place on February 6 in support of the Parkdale Community Food Bank.
The free show, which is being staged by NuFunk Concerts in association Rasta Fest & Uma Noto, will be streamed on May 6 from BSMT 245 in Toronto from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
NuFunk in a release said the show is the longest-running Bob Marley tribute in Canada and ‘one of the hottest local reggae concerts of the year.’
“The event showcases the best of Canada’s reggae music scene while raising essential food donations for the Parkdale Food Bank,” organizers said.
The show will feature veteran soul-reggae singer Jay Douglas, who collaborates with up-and-coming reggae collective Reggaddiction to reinterpret Bob Marley & The Wailers material and perform original material.
The Livestream will feature pre-recorded live performances of reggae musicians from across Canada as well as DJs exploring Marley’s vast catalogue.
The Parkdale Community Food Bank is a grassroots organization, founded by volunteers in 2007 and serving 4,700 people each.
The much loved dreadlock musician died at the young age of 36.
He was diagnosed with acral lentinginous melanoma in 1977 and died as a result of the illness.
His fans around the world expressed their grief, and he received a state funeral in Jamaica. The greatest hits album Legend was released in 1984, and became the best selling reggae album of all time, with estimated sales of more than 75 million records worldwide.
He was posthumously honoured by Jamaica soon after his death with a designated Order of Merit. In 1994, he was inducted into the Rock of Roll Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone ranked him No. 11 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
For more info contact jay@nufunk.ca