Roxanne Haynes
The Bow River was already flowing at three times its normal rate when Ziggy Marley and his band took the stage at the Epcor Centre on the evening of June 20 last year.
By the time the first sweet notes of Marley’s hit “Tomorrow People” began emanating from the Jack Singer Concert Hall Calgarians were providing shelter to some 110000 fellow residents already displaced by the surging waters.
Though hardly a son of the city the Jamaican-born Marley also displayed a good deal of mettle and compassion that day choosing not to flee town but to go onstage without knowing if a single soul would turn up for his show.
“We wanted to make sure that if the people are coming that we were there for them” Marley says. “I wasn’t scared I have played in places where there was war going on.”
Equally as astounding was that about 1400 of the 1800 fans who bought tickets for the sold-out concert actually showed up to celebrate Marley and his music despite the perils of the flood.
“Even though people knew that getting home after the show would very likely be difficult they were not going to be dissuaded by the flood waters” says Alex Bonyun communications manager of the Epcor Centre. Bonyun also praised staff for their professionalism and dedication in making the show happen.
Calgarians will get another opportunity to see Marley perform — in what will surely be better circumstances — when he returns to the Epcor Centre on Monday September 29. The concert will be in support of Marley’s 13th and latest recording Fly Rasta which is described as “marrying Ziggy’s distinctive reggae sound with elements of psychedelica rock funk soul and pop.”
Drawing on a rainbow of musical genres has always been a cornerstone of Marley’s music and one that has earned him praise including six Grammy Awards Particularly early in his career however his recordings were also greeted with some derision; some critics and reggae traditionalists felt he was swaying too far from his legendary father’s classic roots reggae.
“There is some truth to that” Marley says with a chuckle. But he quickly turns serious adding “it goes beyond the music. I am open-minded. I like messing with the rules.”
It’s a trait he says he got in large part from his father who he places atop his list of musical influences along with such other paragons as Miles Davis and Fela Kuti a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and human rights activist.
“My father’s music was good from the beginning; my stuff had to grow into being good” says Marley.
It’s a comment that demonstrates how comfortable Marley is both in his own skin and with his family legacy.
Decades after singing at his father’s funeral Marley lovingly and comfortably includes songs from his father’s epic musical canon in his concerts.
Like his parents Marley does not flinch from active and sometimes vocal involvement as a citizen and humanitarian.
Before going onstage last year he took a chance that his fans would appreciate the addition of his song “Still the Storms” to his setlist. With phrases such as “flood of tears rise for stories untold a debt to be paid hey don’t you know” the song speaks both to what Marley sees as political injustice or in the case of the Alberta floods environmental carelessness.
“It was meant as a strong message in terms of cause and effect and what role we play in things that happen on our planet” he says.
Marley says he gave his Calgary concert and the province’s floods a great deal of thought “after the fact when we left.”
But don’t expect the flood to be a major issue when Marley hits the stage on Monday.
“We are moving forward” he says. “We remember but we are living today we are not living yesterday.”
ZIGGGY MARLEY performs on Monday September 29 at the Jack Singer Concert Hall.
