A popular reggae band will visit Gainesville this week to show fans its redefined iconic music.
The Wailers, formed in the late ’60s in Kingston, Jamaica, included Bob Marley as a founding member before he went solo. The band will play at High Dive, located at 210 SW Second Ave., on Tuesday, with openers The Savants of Soul, Maca Reggae Samba and Turn- around.
Doors open at 6 p.m. for the 8 p.m. show, and tickets are $20 on ticketfly.com or $23 at the door, according to the Facebook event page. The band will be playing all of Bob Marley’s biggest hits and will be celebrating the 30-year anniversary of Bob Marley and the Wailers’ “Legend” album, which is the best-selling reggae album of all time.
The group is currently touring around the U.S. and giving fans a taste of its modern flare to the reg- gae genre. The band has sold over 250 million albums worldwide and has performed more than 200 shows annually, according to Justine Ketola, who is in charge of the band’s publicity and social media.
Originally known as Bob Marley and the Wailers when the band first formed, the music has been recognized by premiere mu- sic companies and has made it on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Al- bums of All Time.”
“Original members included Bob Marley and his vocal partners Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh, alongside the ground-breaking rhythm section of the Barrett brothers, Carlton on drums and Aston ‘Family Man’ on bass,” Ketola said.
Their ambition led them to perform countless shows, which landed them a contract with Island Records in 1971.
“Today, Aston leads the band as it continues its worldwide campaign to promote peace, love and equality through the message of reggae and Rastafari,” she said.
According to the Facebook event page, attendees can expect to hear Bob Marley classics like “One Love,” “Simmer Down” and “Get Up, Stand Up.” High Dive’s beer garden will also be open at 6 p.m. for those of age.
