KCRW’s World Festival
SUNDAY, JUNE 30 AT 7:00 PM
June 6, 2013 (Los Angeles, CA) – KCRW’s World Festival at the Hollywood Bowl continues with the 12th annual Reggae Night on Sunday, June 30 at 7:00 PM featuring three-time Grammy-winning reggae/dancehall superstar Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley making his Hollywood Bowl headlining debut and seven-time Grammy-winning roots reggae performer and producer Stephen “Ragga” Marley. The two reggae stars will be joined by special guests The Ghetto Youths Crew. The evening also features an opening set by veteran Jamaican reggae band Third World.
Reggae Night XII at the Hollywood Bowl includes many artists featured on the recent compilation Ghetto Youths International Presents Set Up Shop Vol. 1, released in February 2013 on the Ghetto Youths imprint. The 14-track compilation includes tracks from the Marley brothers Damian, Stephen, and Julian as well as the talented Ghetto Youths International artists including Jo Mersa (eldest son of Stephen “Ragga” Marley), Wayne Marshall, Black-Am-I, Christopher Ellis (the youngest son of legendary Jamaican vocalist Alton Ellis). The album peaked at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Reggae Album chart and the U.S. and Japan iTunes Reggae Album chart. Set Up Shop Vol. 1 also landed the #2 spot on iTunes Reggae Album chart in the United Kingdom.
Ghetto Youths International is the family-owned record label incorporated in 2002 by Bob Marley’s sons Julian, Stephen, and Damian. The entity allows the brothers to work closely with each other on musical collaborations and release a catalogue of works featuring a new crop of artists as well as their own material.
Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley was born in 1978 to parents Bob Marley and Cindy Breakspeare. In 1991, at the age of 13, he began performing in a group called “The Shepherds,” and by 1996, had already made his stamp as a different kind of Marley when he released his first solo album Mr. Marley, a heavily dancehall-influenced album produced by his brother Stephen. His second album Halfway Tree was released in 2001, and showcased Damian’s unique gift for blending dancehall, reggae, and hip-hop styles. The album remained on the Billboard Top Reggae Album chart for 158 weeks and earned Damian his first Grammy for Best Reggae Album. Damian’s third album Welcome to Jamrock – which Spin magazine named “the best album by any son of Bob Marley has ever made” – garnered him Grammy Awards for Best Reggae Album and Best Urban/Alternative Performance. To date, Damian is the only Jamaican reggae artist to win two Grammy Awards on the same night. He is also the only reggae artist to win in the Best Urban/Alternative Performance category at the Grammy Awards. The New York Times called, “Welcome to Jamrock” – the album’s title single – the “best reggae song of the decade,” and it was also named as one of the Top 100 Songs of the Decade by Rolling Stone magazine. In 2010 Damian released Distant Relatives, the critically acclaimed collaboration with hip-hop star Nas. The album debuted at Number 5 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart and Number 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Rap Albums and Reggae Albums charts.
Stephen “Ragga” Marley, the second son of Bob and Rita Marley, began his career with his siblings in The Melody Makers. Just like his older brother Ziggy, Stephen acquired his initial studio skills by watching his father and assisting in the production of The Melody Makers’ albums including their three Best Reggae Album Grammy winners Conscious Party, One Bright Day, and Fallen Is Babylon. In 2007, after all of the singing, songwriting, and production excellence Stephen had brought to other Marley family projects over the years (including all four of brother Damian’s albums), few people were surprised when his long awaited debut solo album Mind Control debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Reggae Album chart. Recorded at the Marley Music studio in Kingston and the Marley’s Lions Den studio in Miami, Mind Control organically blended eclectic elements which defied categorization, surprising many listeners who exclusively associate the Marley name with reggae. The album met with widespread critical acclaim: Interview magazine called it “a quiet masterpiece, easily the best effort from a Marley progeny,” while Entertainment Weekly hailed it as “the best Marley album in a generation.” Mind Control won the Best Reggae Album Grammy in 2008 while its unplugged version Mind Control-Acoustic was similarly honored in 2010, increasing Stephen’s Grammy Award total - earned from his various roles on assorted Marley family projects - to seven, a record-setting number for a Jamaican artist. While Stephen has built a formidable reputation handily navigating between genres, his second album, Revelation Part 1: The Root of Life, marked a return to roots reggae. In 2013, Stephen Marley plans to release a follow-up entitled Revelation Part 2: The Fruit of Life, which will lean towards more of what Marley describes as an “eclectic feel.”
Third World, a Jamaican reggae band formed in 1973, was influenced by soul, funk, and disco. The original line-up of keyboard player Michael “Ibo” Cooper, guitarist (and cellist) Stephen “Cat” Coore, drummer Cornel Marshall, singer "Prilly," and percussionist Irving “Carrot” Jarrett released their first album in the early ’70s and it became a local hit. The band’s greatest success came in the late 1970s and early 1980s, peaking with their cover version of The O’Jays’ song “Now That We Found Love,” a hit single on both sides of the Atlantic in 1979. This brought them to the attention of Stevie Wonder, who wrote (along with Melody A. McCully) the band’s hit “Try Jah Love.” Despite several lineup changes, the band continues to record and delight audiences with their live performances.
One of the largest natural amphitheaters in the world, with a seating capacity of nearly 18,000, the HOLLYWOOD BOWL has been the summer home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since its official opening in 1922, and is home to the best and brightest in all genres of music. It remains one of the best deals in Los Angeles; to this day, $1 buys a seat at the top of the Bowl for many of the Los Angeles Philharmonic's concerts. The venue offers something for everyone, from its sizzling summer evening concerts to the daytime summer arts festival for children, “SummerSounds: Music for Kids at the Hollywood Bowl,” now in its 44th season. In February 2013, the Hollywood Bowl was named Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue for the ninth year in a row at the 24th Annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards. The Hollywood Bowl has become synonymous with summer in Southern California. http://www.HollywoodBowl.com
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:
KCRW’s World Festival
Reggae Night XII
Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley
Stephen “Ragga” Marley
with special guest The Ghetto Youths Crew
(Wayne Marshall, Jo Mersa, Black-Am-I, and Christopher Ellis)
Third World
KCRW host: Jeremy Sole
Sunday, June 30, 2013 at 7:00 PM
HOLLYWOOD BOWL
2301 N. Highland Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90068
Generously sponsored by Heineken
Subscriptions and single tickets are available now for the Hollywood Bowl 2013 summer season at HollywoodBowl.com or Ticketmaster.com, or via phone at 323.850.2000 or 800.745.3000 and in person at the Hollywood Bowl Box Office. For more information, please call 323.850.2000.
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06.12.13
Sophie Jefferies, 213.972.3422, sjefferies@laphil.org
Laura Cohen, 310.867.3897, lcmediapr@gmail.com