Reggae legend Bob Marley’s 79th birthday celebrations get underway next week with the ‘People Get Ready’ concert on Wednesday (January 17) at Main Street Rose Hall, in Montego Bay.

Topping the bill are recording artistes Richie Spice, Queen Ifrica, Nadine Sutherland and Black Am I. 

The four stars are strongly connected to Marley’s legacy, with Sutherland having been signed to the Tuff Gong label and recording her first single ‘Starvation‘ as her prize for winning the Tastee Talent Competition in 1979 at the age of 11, and meeting Bob personally.

More than four decades of hit-making and performing have since followed including classics such as ‘Action‘, ‘Until‘, and ‘Baby Face‘.

Richell Bonner, known to legions of conscious reggae fans as Richie Spice, made an immediate impact beginning in the mid-90s with ‘Grooving My Girl‘. He has toured the world on the strength of such staples as ‘Earth A Run Red‘, ‘Brown Skin‘, ‘Ghetto Girl‘, and ‘Youths So Cold‘.

The daughter of ska legend Derrick Morgan, Queen Ifrica, had emerged as a star in her own right, showing a distinct flair for blending sensitive issues (‘Daddy‘) with outright social commentary (‘Heroes‘) and feministic pride (‘Lioness on the Rise‘).

Even at this early stage of his career, Black-Am-I has already distinguished himself as a powerful voice of Jamaican music’s next generation, with tracks like ‘The Edge‘ and ‘No Way Out‘.

Speaking for the Bob Marley Group, marketing director Julia Vaz said, “It’s a tremendous blessing for us to continue to honour the legend that is Bob Marley, and to afford him the high place that his life, his achievements and his eternal spiritual presence and impact deserve. We welcome all to join us in this year’s celebrations as we honour his unassailable legacy as a champion of equal rights and a cultural ambassador.”

Anup Chandiram, CEO of Main Street Rose Hall, stated “We are so excited to be able to celebrate Bob Marley’s birthday here. Each celebration has grown from strength to strength and we just want to thank those who have helped with this staging including Appleton Estate, Mercedes (Stewart’s Automotive Group), Coldwell Banker, Wata (Wisynco), JMMB and MarleyOne.

Marley’s global profile, which has continually risen, even 44 years after his passing, is set to be burnished further with the big screen release of Bob Marley: One Love. Scheduled to hit cinemas worldwide on February 14, the film stars Kingsley Ben-Adair, Lashana Lynch and James Morton, with Reinaldo Marcus Green (‘King Richard‘ ) directing.