Lee “Scratch” Perry‘s fantastic reggae music voyage began with the artiste’s upbringing in the Jamaica countryside and his travels to urban environments in the late 1950s. From there, Lee Scratch Perry helped create the reggae music genre and went on to mentor Bob Marley and the Wailers.
Lee Scratch Perry built his fame with his amazing [...]

New Zealand’s 2011 Raggamuffin Music Festival has announced that New Zealand acts Salmonella Dub, Nesian Mystik, 1814, and Sons of Zion will be performing in Rotorua on February 5, 2011. The New Zealand acts will be joining international music stars Mary J Blige, Jimmy Cliff, Maxi Priest, Sean Paul, The Original Wailers, and Ky-Mani Marley [...]

Today the lineup for New Zealand’s Raggamuffin 2011 reggae and music festival was announced.
Performers at 2011 Raggamuffin will include:

Mary J Blige, the R&B star from the United States, will headline the event.
The Original Wailers are also confirmed for the show.
Ky-Mani Marley
Jimmy Cliff
Maxi Priest
Sean Paul

Additional New Zealand acts will be announced next week. Update: the [...]

[ February 5, 2011; ] Raggamuffin 2011 has been announced for February 5 in Rotorua, New Zealand. This is the 4th annual Raggamuffin event, bringing dancehall, reggae, and R&B to New Zealand and Australia. The headliner, Mary J Blige, and supporting acts including The Original Wailers, Sean Paul, and Ky-Mani Marley, have all been announced.

Here’s the Raggamuffin Music Festival [...]

King of the Dancehall Beenie Man has been removed from the lineup for the 2010 Big Day Out concert series in Australia and New Zealand.
Big Day Out organizers removed Beenie Man, born Moses Davis, after gay rights activists complained that his lyrics incite anti-gay violence, citing his infamous line “I’m dreaming of a new Jamaica, [...]

Enjoyed the 2011 New Zealand Raggamuffin Music Festival? Looking for more New Zealand reggae music?
For everyone who loved the 2008 Raggamuffin Festival and those who couldn’t be there, EMI has released a 2-disc set containing music from the dub & reggae artists who performed live.
The lineup includes a collection of global and New Zealand [...]

Last Friday, January 24th, UB40 lead singer Ali Campbell declared that he quit the reggae band after almost 30 years and tens of millions of records sold worldwide. Campbell, 48, released a statement on his website, claiming that “management difficulties, which have been ongoing for almost five years, had become intolerable. [...] No words [...]

While it’s no surprise that the Marley family tops the Billboard reggae charts this week, there are some very interesting developments going on:

Collie Buddz holds strong with his self-titled album in the #2 spot. Some people compare him unfairly to Eminem, but I hope we see a similarly broad artistic outpouring from the [...]