Reggae in Ridgefield when Stephen Marley, son of the legendary Bob Marley comes to Playhouse

Stephen Marley, son of the legendary Bob Marley, Brings Forward-Thinking Reggae to The Ridgefield Playhouse on November 13th

A Grammy Award-winning son of the legendary Bob Marley, Stephen Marley continues his father’s legacy with forward-thinking reggae. In addition to his critically acclaimed, award-winning solo albums, he has worked with brothers Ziggy (as part of the Melody Makers), Damian and Julian, as both a performer and producer. He is co-founder, along with Ziggy, of Ghetto Youths International. Stephen Marley brings an acoustic full-band show to The Ridgefield Playhouse on Tuesday, November 13th at 8pm, part of the Pepsi Rock Series powered by Xfinity and the World Music Series. Make it a great night out with dinner and a show! Visit Bailey’s Backyard (23 Bailey Avenue • Ridgefield) for an early dinner and receive 10% off when you show your ticket! Media partner for this event is WPKN, The Real Alternative.

The second son of Bob and Rita Marley, eight-time Grammy Award-winning musician and producer, Stephen began his career as a precocious six-year old singing, dancing and playing percussion with his siblings in the group The Melody Makers whose first single “Children Playing in The Streets” was produced by their father in 1979 and released on Tuff Gong, the label founded by Bob in the late 60s. While still a teenager he assisted in the production of The Melody Makers’ albums including their three Best Reggae Album Grammy winners Conscious Party (Virgin Records, 1989) One Bright Day (Virgin Records, 1990) and Fallen Is Babylon (Elektra Entertainment, 1998).

In 1993 Ziggy and Stephen founded Ghetto Youths International (one dollar of your ticket price goes to support this cause) as a means of controlling their own music and helping upcoming artists. Stephen’s earliest solo production efforts for Ghetto Youths International includes his late grandmother’s (Cedella Booker) album My Altar, followed in 1995 by the Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers single “Works To Do” and younger brother Damian’s “10,000 Chariots”. In 1996 Damian released his debut album Mr. Marley, on the Ghetto Youths imprint, on which Stephen played several instruments and wrote most of the songs, as well as producing the album.

The first project that brought Stephen’s production capabilities widespread attention was Chant Down Babylon, where he audaciously manipulated his father’s original vocal outtakes from the 1970s Island Records’ sessions, splicing them into duets with hip-hop and R&B artists, while updating the Wailers’ richly textured one-drop rhythms with an assortment of samples, loops and overdubs. Chant Down Babylon achieved its objective of bringing Bob’s music to a new generation of fans, earned a Grammy nomination, was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America and has sold more than one million copies worldwide.

Stephen’s hip-hop infused dancehall beats were far more fluid and complex on Damian’s 2001 album Half Way Tree (Ghetto Youths/Motown), demonstrating Stephen’s equal dexterity in creating rugged roots reggae rhythms, which supported the well-crafted, substantial lyrics and Damian’s vocal flow. Half Way Tree yielded several hits in Jamaica, and internationally, including “More Justice” and “It Was Written” (featuring Capleton) and won the 2002 Grammy for Best Reggae album. Stephen produced and contributed vocals to Damian’s single “Welcome to Jamrock”, the biggest reggae song of 2005 and still very popular today. Released in September 2005, “Welcome To Jamrock” (Tuff Gong/Ghetto Youths/Universal Republic) entered the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart at No. 7, a record-setting opening week for a reggae artist; it was certified Gold and won the 2006 Reggae Album Grammy while the single was honored for the Best Alternative Hip Hop performance, another first for a Jamaican artist.

For tickets ( $56), call or visit the box office, 203-438-5795 or go online at ridgefieldplayhouse.org.  The Ridgefield Playhouse is a non-profit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street, Ridgefield, CT.

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Submitted by Ridgefield, CT

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