Reggae legends The Wailers are set to perform at High Dive this week for what is expected to be a sold-out crowd.
The show will take place Sunday from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., with early entry to High Dive’s Beer Garden offered at 6 p.m.
Tickets are $20 in advance and $23 at the door, and those under 21 will be charged a $3 fee. Tickets are being sold at Hear Again Music and Movies, High Tides Tobacco and Gifts and online at ticketfly.com, as well as at High Dive itself. The bands Ozone and Propaganjah will provide opening entertainment.
Pat Lavery, the facility and events manager at High Dive, said this will be The Wailers’ fourth time performing at High Dive. Lavery has booked and produced shows at High Dive since it opened almost six years ago, and he said The Wailers are always memorable performers.
“What’s great about this show is seeing people of all ages singing along to the classic songs of Bob Marley and The Wailers,” he said.
Lavery added that he has had a relationship with the band that goes back a decade. He said The Wailers always come to him when they want to perform a show in Gainesville.
“They are the most iconic band in reggae history, having sold over 100 million records,” he said. “High Dive is the most iconic venue in Gainesville. It’s a perfect fit.”
The Wailers will be playing Marley’s greatest hits, including songs they recorded with Marley himself when they played under Bob Marley and The Wailers. These include “Could You Be Loved,” “Buffalo Soldier,” “I Shot The Sheriff,” “Is This Love” and many more.
Two of the original The Wailers members, Aston “Family Man” Barrett and Junior Marvin, have since rejoined the band and will be present at the show, an aspect Lavery said will make the event “a very authentic experience.”
The Wailers band was what took reggae from Jamaica to the worldwide stage, something younger fans of Marley may be completely unaware of when enjoying his music. Marley was catapulted to international success with the direct support of The Wailers, and during their time together as Bob Marley and The Wailers, some of Marley’s most iconic music came to be.
The Wailers went their separate ways after Marley’s tragic death in 1981, but they have since reunited to bring true reggae music to a world that has changed drastically since their original time together.
