Jr. Gong returned a foreign last Sunday, June 30, to reign fire on The Hollywood Bowl's Reggae Night, preceded by and later united with his big brother, Stephen, who we've literally watched grow up on stage from the time he was chatting beside him own big brother, Ziggy, with The Melody Makers. Both performers have scorched their own distinct marks on the Jamaican music scene at home and abroad, and also make a point of honoring their father's legacy for fans, from a true, heartfelt place that hauntingly channels Trenchtown's legendary Tuff Gong. Stephen's soul-stirring set was backed solely by Nyahbinghi drums, acoustic guitar, and wind-wood instruments, solid with early Bob tunes like "Small Axe," "Walk the Proud Land," "Baby We Got a Date," and "Haile Selassie Is The Chapel," which you see performed above. After a brief intermission, Damien tore the house down, matching blazing vocal speed to indomitable energy and earnest power in mighty tunes like "Dis Spear" (dedicated to all the warriors), "Land of Promise," "Patience," "More Justice," and this take on his daddy's "Exodus" you see below. The Bowl was really rocking on Sunday. Third World opened the night, Julian Marley busted a few songs in an appearance aside members of The Ghetto Youth Crew, and even Spragga Benz made a brief cameo to show dem da motion, seen? Big up Spragga and all conscious Angelenos! Hope you like the videos.
Stephen “Raggamuffin” Marley And Damien “Jr. Gong” Marley ~ Live at The Hollywood Bowl
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