Ziggy Marley Forwards Love to Boston Tour Photos 10/26/2011

Photos & Feature by Empress K @www.reggaereflection.com

10/26/2011  – With only a few shows left on the current leg of the Forward to Love Tour, Ziggy Marley performed to a sold out crowd at the Paradise Theatre in Boston.  The tour was in support of  his Grammy nominated 4th solo studio album, ‘Wild and Free‘ , which was released over the summer on June 14, 2011.  The smaller size of the venue provided an intimate setting for the show with a good view of the stage from both the main floor as well as from the balcony area.  Ziggy’s arrival in Boston was hallmarked by the two large bright yellow tour busses parked in front of the Paradise decorated with Ziggy’s ‘Forward to Love’ emblem and other  Marley related logos.  Part of the successful fan interaction campaign has been to take a photo of the tour bus and post it online when it is sighted, which fans have readily been doing coast to coast.   See Fan Bus Photos

While I’ve been to numerous Marley Festivals in Miami, as well as many individual shows for Stephen, Damian and Julian Marley, this was the first opportunity for me to to attend Ziggy’s show and I was looking forward to it.  I  was not alone. A diverse crowd of various ages arrived at the venue early and queued in a long line until the venue opened sometime past 7:00 PM.  Sound check was apparently  still going on as Ziggy was spotted exiting the venue and left in a waiting taxi while the early concert goers were already in line. 

Leon Mobley a world renown West African drummer and percussionist opened up the show with an upbeat set of music.  Leon received an very enthusiastic response from his home crowd in Boston. 

Close to 9:30 pm, it was time for Ziggy to make his way to the stage. Ziggy simply walked on stage and joined the rest of his band then immediately proceeded to play without further pause.  Ziggy’s set was comprised of approximately 16 songs from his extensive catalog of music ranging from the early days of the Melody Makers with well known hits, Tomorrow’s People and Look Who’s Dancing.  He also performed several songs from ‘Love is My Religion’  and ‘Dragonfly’ including: Be Free, Love is My Religion, Black Cat, and True to Yourself.  His new material from ‘Wild and Free‘ was well received with fans already singing and dancing along to his catchy new songs:  Welcome to the World, Wild and Free, Changes, and Personal Revolution among others.  Much to the audience’s delight he even included just a few of his fathers’s classic songs  Stir it Up, Is this Love and Get up Stand Up. 

For about an hour after the show,  A meet and greet was held on the tour bus for a limited amount of fans that purchased their tickets and merchandise through www.ZiggyMarley.com.  From the apparent excitement in the line,  the fans were quite pleased to be able to meet Ziggy,  and obtain autographs, although some fans were a bit disappointed that no cameras were allowed during the meet and greet.  It was an enjoyable evening of Ziggy Marley music  and his fans will most certainly eagerly await him to Forward Love to Boston again soon. 

Do you have highlights of the show that you would like to share?  Feel free to leave a comment below.