Damian Marley is bringing back the vibes with the fifth year of his Welcome To Jamrock Reggae Cruise, named after his iconic GRAMMY-winning album. The cruise will embark on its annual voyage on Dec. 1, from Florida to Jamaica and allow music fans to explore the birthplace of reggae music and experience four days filled with music from modern greats.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Attention <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WTJRC2018?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WTJRC2018</a>!! Who’s ready to celebrate JAMROCK style with our incredible DJ’s and Hosts for our 5th Year Anniversary?! Only a few more weeks until we set sail....RETWEET if you are you cruising with us!! <a href="https://t.co/0CDFkRhQrD">pic.twitter.com/0CDFkRhQrD</a></p>— Jamrock Reggae Cruise (@wtjrc) <a href="https://twitter.com/wtjrc/status/1060610093685760000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The jam-packed lineup includes all five Marley brothers (Damian, Ziggy, Stephen, Ky-mani and Julian Marley), who, as reported by Billboard, will performing together on the cruise for the first time ever. Damian will also perform a solo-set with his full band and Stephen Marley's son Jo Mersa Marley. Joining them are a solid group of artists from across the reggae world, including ska group the Skatalites, 26-year-old reggae roots revivalist Chronixx, singer/DJ Queen Ifrica and rising female dancehall star Shenseea. The lineup also boasts some old-school reggae legends, including singer Mykal Rose who will be playing with production powerhouses Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, dancehall veteran Elephant Man and many others across the spectrum of sounds and styles in the reggae-verse.
"We try to keep our lineup fresh, make sure we have credible acts to uphold the genre and as much as we can, share the culture of reggae and Jamaica within this environment," Damian Marley told Billboard. "All of the artists involved are proud to see reggae presented on this platform and that shows in the caliber of their performances. From the participation of the fans, to the production to the people who run the boat, you can feel reggae's positive vibrations."
GRAMMY-winning reggae artist—and son of reggae legend Bob Marley—Damian Marley has taken the role of continuing his father's legacy and keeping the genre alive and vibrant quite seriously. He has taken home four GRAMMY wins to date, including for Best Reggae Album for the 2005 classic Welcome to Jamrock and Best Urban/Alternative Performance for the title track, the only Jamaican artist to receive the latter award, at the 48th GRAMMY Awards. He is keeping the spirit of reggae alive in his own music, through collaborating with his brothers, who are also working hard to promote the sound and spirit of the genre their father so famously helped popularize outside of Jamaica, and with events like the Jamrock cruise that bring a diverse group of artists, young and old, established and newer, with fans from all walks of life, together to enjoy the sounds and energy of the reggae community.
The Recording Academy got to experience the positive, welcoming vibes of the Jamrock cruise firsthand on its second voyage in 2015, and sat down with several artists that year, including GRAMMY nominee Julian Marley, who talked about what it was like growing up as a Marley.
"Music has been my life from birth, I should say, growing up in a musical family. Really and truly I've love music from creation, so music has always been there," Julian said. "I took a piece of each genre, I love jazz—we listened to jazz, classical, lots of different music, so you'll find a piece of every kind of music in our music."
More info, including the waitlist for this year's cruise, can be found on Jamrock's website.
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