Arts & Entertainment
Toots and the Maytals Bringing Acoustic Reggae to Edmonds
$1 dollar of every ticket sold for Saturday's show at the Edmonds Center for the Arts will go to The Toots Foundation, which supports underprivileged children.
Legendary band Toots and the Maytals, who had a memorable musical role in the 1972 film The Harder They Come and helped introduce reggae to the world, performs Saturday at the Edmonds Center for the Arts.
The show is an acoustic one. According to the Aspen Daily News:
The acoustic sound is no less energetic, and maybe more soulful, than the electric one people are used to hearing from Toots and the Maytals. The arrangements put Hibbert’s voice, and his characteristic mix of scatting and soul deliveries, at center stage with a simple string guitar and percussion backing.
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The show features leader Toots Hibberts' son, Hopeton, on bass, Paul Douglas on percussion and Chantelle Ernandez and Elenore Walters with background vocals.
When Jamaican-based Frederick “Toots” Hibbert and his band released their single "Do The Reggay" in 1968, they helped name and define an entire genre. Blending ska, reggae, gospel, soul, and rock, the Grammy Award-winning Toots and the Maytals have been entertaining audiences since their first album release 50 years ago.
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To commemorate the 50th anniversary, Toots and the Mayals have released a career-spanning documentary, "Reggae Got Soul" and a new live album, "Unplugged on Strawberry Hill", recorded in Jamaica's Blue Mountains. Watch a preview of the documentary.
Hibbert recently received his second and most distinguished national honor when the prime minister of Jamaica presented him with the Order of Jamaica during a ceremony held on National Heroes Day.
This honor places him as a member of an exclusive club, which includes musical peers Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff and Island Records founder Chris Blackwell.
Hibberts previously received the Order of Distinction, the sixth highest national honor, which is “conferred upon citizens of Jamaica who have rendered outstanding and important service to Jamaica, or to distinguished citizens of a country other than Jamaica.”
Joining Toots and the Maytals is the singer, songwriter and instrumentalist Anders Osborne (watch a video). The longtime New Orleans resident blends rock, roots music and funk into his lyrical journey.
Saturday's show is part of an acoustic tour of the U.S. One dollar of every ticket sold will go to The Toots Foundation, which raises money for underprivileged children across the globe, but primarily in Hibbert's native Jamaica. The foundation has already donated $2 million Jamaican dollars to local charities and children’s programs.
Toots and the Maytals perform Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Edmonds Center for the Arts, 410 Fourth Ave. N., Edmonds. Tickets are $31, $36 and $41, $16 for youth. They are available at the Edmonds Center for the Arts box office, 425-275-9595 or online at www.ec4arts.org.