Friday is Bob Marley’s birthday, and WOW Hall will celebrate the life and music of the legendary reggae artist with a show featuring Midnite, a quartet from St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Honoring Marley’s birthday with a reggae performance has been a WOW Hall tradition for more than 10 years. WOW Hall publicist Bob Fenessey said he remembers when a Eugene resident first asked WOW Hall to host a show for fans of Marley and reggae.
“When a community member suggested that we have an annual show for reggae fans, they added, ‘It wouldn’t matter which reggae band you had!’” he said.
Fenessey said since Midnite is an internationally-touring band, the show should be more exciting than past concerts. The performance opener will be Santa Cruz, Calif.-based DJ Swami I spinning Marley’s tunes. Midnite will follow with a set of original material.
Midnite’s members — lead vocalist Vaughn Benjamin, keyboardist Ron Benjamin, drummer Dion Hopkins and bassist Phillip Merchant — formed their group in 1989 and have been touring the United States ever since, releasing 10 albums along the way. Independent publicist Mike Kelly, who currently represents the band, said Midnite offers surprises and a new distinguished style while older Jamaican reggae artists fail to vary their music.
“They are highly enlightened,” Kelly said. “They strip down reggae to its bare roots and play unique rhythms. It’s like reggae music from the 1970s with a fresh take.”
He said a handful of Midnite’s lyrics speak of Rastafarianism, a religion among black Jamaicans that teaches the redemption of blacks and their return to Africa.
“Many reggae artists identify with (Rastafarianism); most reggae is a testament to the religion,” he said.
Swami I said Midnite helps reggae music to branch outside of its most commonly known Jamaican roots.
“They make it a world music genre,” he said. “It’s not just one island and one sound. They bring reggae to a human level, and their lyrics involve issues of the 21st century.”
Swami I’s interest in the group was sparked around four years ago when he heard one of the band’s CD at a reggae festival. He met the band two years ago at a Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, where he “liked their sincerity in person.”
“The depth of their sound together told me to seek them out,” he said.
Although the group will not be playing Marley covers, both Kelly and Swami I said the memory of Marley will be the driving force of Friday night’s performance. Swami I said that he looks up to Marley spiritually, and Midnite has the potential to live up to his memory.
“The way I was raised, we called him Saint Marley,” he said. “He sent a message of unity for all people across the world on the small platform of reggae. Midnite, if any band, could hold such a candle to him. They have the sincerity and spirit to carry their reggae to a much higher place.”
WOW Hall is located at 291 W. Eighth Ave. Tickets are $17 in advance at the WOW Hall Box Office and $20 at the door. The show begins at 8 p.m.