An almighty line-up of reggae musicians will descend on Rotorua for the 6th annual Raggamuffin music festival on 1 & 2 February 2013.
Raggamuffin announces today that joining the all-star lineup of artists who have already been revealed – including Ms Lauryn Hill – will be legends of ska and reggae, Toots and the Maytals.
Frederick ‘Toots’ Hibbert was awarded the Distinguished Order of Jamaica in October 2012 and rightly so for the man popularly credited with giving reggae music its name with his 1968 song Do the Reggay.
That was only one of a string of hugely influential hits, all of which drew heavily on American R&B styles and combined them with the rocksteady and reggae sound. Toots and the Maytals influenced many future artists. Pressure Drop was covered by the Clash on their debut album, and Monkey Man became one of the signature songs of the 80s UK ska revival thanks to The Specials cover. This song was also covered by Amy Winehouse and most recently No Doubt on the 2005 Grammy award winning album, True Love. The album featured re-recorded versions of their classics alongside popular and legendary musicians such as Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, and Keith Richards, as well as popular artists today such as Ben Harper, The Roots, and Shaggy. Toots and the Maytals remain a relevant influence on today’s global music scene, with another Grammy nomination for his 2008 release Light Your Light. In recent years Toots has toured with The Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow and Los Lonely Boys.
UB40 frontman and NZ’s Got Talent judge Ali Campbell will return to the Rotorua festival as a very special guest with Ali Campbell’s UB40. The legendary voice of Red Red Wine, Kingston Town, If It Happens Again and I Cant Help Falling In Love sold over 70 million records worldwide as the frontman for UB40. They notched up four number No. 1 world-wide singles, over 40 Top 40 UK singles, released 24 studio albums and received an Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement.
Also announced are Rebelution – the mega Cali-reggae / roots four-piece band whose latest album Piece of Mind charted in the US as #1 Independent, #1 Reggae, #4 iTunes, # 8 Digital and #13 Billboard 200 and Darky Roots, a Brisbane-based outfit formed in 2008. They are impressing audiences all around the pacific with a diverse repertoire of music, sweet harmonies, vintage horn section and heavy drum and bass, and with their clever and extremely catchy song writing.
Kiwi additions to the line up include this year’s Tui winners for Best Roots Album, The Black Seeds, who will headline the Friday night and eternal faves Three Houses Down.
These stellar artists will join an exciting lineup of stars including Raggamuffin fans’ most requested artist Ms Lauryn Hill plus Alborosie, Katchafire, Herbs, Tomorrow People, Brownhill and Swiss.
The vibe at the Village Stage will be huge too. Performing there over the two days will be artists including DJ Sirvere and the Club Kingz, Darky Roots, Common Kings, Black Seeds, Gappy Ranks, Zkabby Jams (Smokefree Pacifica Beats Winners), Hot Rain Ft Siaosi, Three Houses Down, The Green, and two of last year’s Raggamuffin Roadtrip favourites, Fiji and J Boog with a special guest appearance from Monsta G.
With more internationals than ever before, mixed in with the best homegrown talent, festival-goers will be guaranteed a mind blowing festival experience.
Specially priced ‘subscriber’ tickets are now available until Friday 30 November. Earlybird Tickets will be available from 1 December until Christmas Day.
