Bob Marley Roots, Rock, Reggae Festival 2006

[HWright]

On Sunday I went to the Bob Marley Roots, Rock, Reggae Festival 2006 at Wolf Trap near Vienna, VA. It was the last stop on a one month tour.

The bill included Bunny Wailer, Steven and Ziggy Marley, Jon Nicholson (solo singer with guitar) and a Salsa/Rap/Dance Hall group from LA called Ozomatli. It lasted about 5 hours and ended with an encore where everyone sang "Get Up Stand Up."

The Marley brothers (each had his own set) played a mix of their father's songs and their own material. Ziggy, being the more experienced band leader, had a set more focused on originals than Steven did. They were both enjoyable though.

Bunny was looking good, resplendent in a white jump suit and matching hat, but his music seemed to be more focused on his later day dancehall material than on pure roots material, with a few ska/rock steady flashbacks (Simmer Down, etc). He barked more than sang and his well known Curtis Mayfield styled tenor was little in evidence. Still, his band had a great horn section and was not as loud as the other groups.