Stephen Marley and friends put on a spectacular show at the Fox Theater in Boulder, Colorado on April 30th
Stephen Marley put on a spectacular performance at the Fox Theater on April 30th, 2014. The people were full of positive vibes and the theater was packed. Often times people will slowly fill the theater as the show starts, but tonight everyone was ready and waiting for the show to begin. To start off the night Jo-Mersa Marley took stage and got the crowd motivated with some upbeat songs. It is a powerful sight to see the son of Stephen Marley bringing reggae music to another generation. Everyone was getting lively when Wayne Marshall came upon stage. Promoting his new release Tru Colors, Wayne Marshall played some new tunes off the album, such as I Know, and Stupid Money. Wayne also made a speech about how Reggae music is what they come to play tonight, which is the music of Jamaica. He made it very clear we were in for a Reggae show and asked the crowd if they were ready for “the best Reggae show ever”. Being that I have seen quite a few reggae shows in my life, this instantly had a lot to live up to, but being a Stephen Marley show, the expectations were high. Wayne Marshall finished his set leaving the crowd full of energy and wanting more as Stephen took stage.The Fox Theater resonated with positive vibrations as Stephen Marley began to perform. Backed by an excellent band (one of my favorite drummers, Squidly Cole, was playing some amazing percussion) and singers, Stephen Marley played a plethora of tunes from his 2011 album, Revelation Part 1, along with some hits from his 2007 release, Mind Control. In the first half of the set, Stephen performed one new song off of his new album which had a unique acoustic vibe, really showcasing his exquisite voice in a spiritual tune. In the middle of the show, performed Iron Bars and the Traffic Jam, and the crowd just went crazy as Determine touched the stage for a short verse. He stepped off and shortly thereafter, Spragga Benz hopped on stage for his verses in both the tunes. By thithths time, the energy was high and the theater was jumping as they dropped the Jah Army Riddim. Stephen played about half of his tune, with a special Free Buju tribute with Spragga singing Buju‘s part. The riddim kept playing as Stephen stepped back as Spragga Benz sang his tune off the riddim, a big herbalist tune, La La Lah. The theater was mostly jumping to this tune as everyone lifted off the ground on a cloud.Stephen took control again and finished up the Jah Army Riddim leaving the whole crowd singing “We are soldiers, inna Jah Army” Stephen played a few of his father’s classics throughout the night, such as Is This Love, Could You Be Loved, and Work. The band stepped off the stage for the encore and the entire theater screamed for Stephen to come back for an encore. Stephen returned and played a few of his new tunes, along with a couple of his father’s tunes as well. Making sure not to disappoint. He called Jo-Mersa and Wayne Marshall back on stage to finish a song with him and leave the crowd with an irie Marley vibration. All of these excellent performers touching one stage was really a sight to behold. Jo-Mersa, Wayne Marshall, Determine, Spragga Benz, and the amazing Stephen Marley. Not to mention Squidly Cole perfecting the drums and such an extremely talented band, this show set Colorado ablaze. The Fox Theater has not seen a performance such as this in years, and hopefully will get some more authentic Jamaican reggae coming back soon. I can’t simply say this was the “best” reggae show I have ever seen, but it definitely was one of them, and did not disappoint in any way. It was an all around excellent performance and evening and a blessed sight and sound to behold.
Written by Lex for Jamworld876