Forget the Melody. Where's the Music?

October 08, 1997

At the Ziggy Marley concert held at The House of Blues, the crowd danced and gyrated for two hours to the rhythmic pulses of reggae music emitted by a stereo and selected by a DJ.

Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, a band that connects the rhythm of reggae with the trends of today's music, finally performed for an anxious and energized crowd after two hours of delays. Alana Davis, a vocalist and guitarist similar to Ani DiFranco, helped pass the time as the opening act by singing songs from her upcoming debut album.

Prerecorded reggae music filled the in-between time, and the audience grooved to Bob Marley tunes in preparation for the real entertainment. Later during the night, cheers and shouts greeted Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, a band comprised of Bob Marley's children and extended family, and the crowd welcomed their long-awaited arrival on stage.

Once the band finally got started, the melody just kept on coming. The group performed an eclectic combination of songs that incorporated various instruments, a reading from the Bible, and animated dance. With optimistic lyrics about freedom and upbeat musical accompaniment, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers reggaed The House of Blues.

The group, which has been performing together in various ways since they were teenagers, has experimented with different forms of music - including hip-hop, Jamaican patois, and a roots-driven sound. The diverse background creates a diverse sound that uplifts and invigorates; the crowd responded positively by singing along.

From Stetson professors to Caribbean locals, the audience consisted of a variety of personalities. Regardless of whether particular observers were wearing Polo shirts or tie-dyed shirts, Doc Martens or flip-flops, everyone related to the fluid and inspirational sound of the music. Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers proved their worth, despite their tardiness, by maintaining the rich sound of reggae within a hip context.

There's a train coming, people.

Get on board.

--Reprinted from The Stetson Reporter

Sara Cotner
I'm a graham cracker-eating, teeth-flossing, water-drinking, ultimate frisbee-playing, feminist text-reading, plant-killing, pottery-collecting, cloud-watching, vocabulary-loving, web page-designing American Studies major at Stetson University who hates reducing her existence to complex adjectives.