March 12, 1996Release No. 320
Contact: Phyllis Graber Jensen
207-786-6330 (office)
207-784-6240 (home)


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ziggy Marley to Perform at Bates

LEWISTON, Maine -- Two-time Grammy award-winning Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers will give a concert at Bates College on March 16 at 8 p.m. in the Clifton Daggett Gray Athletic Building. Tickets are $20.

Critically acclaimed for their ability to connect Reggae's rich and spiritual heritage with today's contemporary music scene, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers have carried on their father Bob Marley's legacy of delivering stirring 'roots' music as well as offering up a dizzying array of other styles and influences in the seven recordings they have released since the mid 1980s.

The doors will open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at all Strawberries locations; Bull Moose Records in Brunswick, Windham and Portland; Good Vibrations in Augusta; Sound Source in Bangor; Play It Again in Yarmouth; Dr. Records in Orono; and Record and CD Exchange in Portland. If not sold out, tickets will be available at the door.

The Marley lineup includes Ziggy, brother Stephen and sisters Cedella and Sharon along with a number of other family members. The Melody Maker's latest album, "Free Like We Want 2 Be" (1995), recorded in their father's remodeled old 'Tuff Gong Studio' in Jamaica (where he recorded many of his classics), strikes a balance between their two earlier hit albumms, "Conscious Party" (1988) and "One Bright Day" (1989).

As storytellers and musicians since adolescence, the Melody Makers have often held to the original delivery style of Jamaican patois, but have also learned to echo the characteristics of today's Reggae and R&B scenes. Their last two allbums, both self-produced, showcased the group's experiments with the hip-hop tinged "Jahmekya" (1991) and the more roots-driven "Joy and Blues" (1993).

With the group's latest release, Ziggy Marley said: "I think in the beginning, when we started out, people could only see us in my father's shadow. I think with each album they sensed that we had something unique to say, that we continue to grow."

The Melody Makers, cited on many occasions for their contribution to social and political awareness, including an award from the United Nations, have explored a variety of ways to effect change, including communicating on the Internet. "I'm realizing that communicating in this way can be just like music. You can communicate truth through it. We can change the world on-line," he said.

The concert is sponsored by the Chase Hall Committee. For further information, call 795-7496.

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