When the birthday of the world’s most widely known reggae star rolls around, it’s no surprise that reggae band High Tide, winner of ICRT’s Battle of the Bands in 2008, would want to celebrate the life of the man who introduced the genre to so many people.
“Bob Marley was not a musician as much as a messenger,” said Moshe Foster, lead vocalist and guitar player for High Tide, who credits Marley with “voicing the emotions and struggles of millions of people throughout the world.”
To celebrate the life of this influential performer, who was born on Feb. 26, 1945, two parties will be held this weekend with live sets by High Tide followed by recordings of Marley’s music.
Though Foster used to rock with his prior band Public Radio, the message of Marley’s reggae has influenced his current direction in music, and is the reason he feels it is so relevant in Taiwan: “His music was filled with love and optimism,” said Foster, “empowering listeners to set aside their differences and see the similarities and unifying qualities of their fellow human beings and raise their own voices to be heard.”
The band will do cover versions of some of Marley’s best known hits, with Foster as DJ Moses and drummer Gregory Russell as DJ Ting also spinning favorites like I Shot the Sheriff, No Woman, No Cry, Could You Be Loved and Redemption Song.
Tonight’s show is a chance to see the band free of charge at Roxy Roots before the venue’s new cover charge policy begins next month, said Root’s new PR manager, Patricia Tsou (鄒佩菁).
“We’re not making any profit,” said Tsou. “Last weekend we had a full house, it was packed but more than half the people were not buying drinks.”
Indeed, it is common to see customers and musicians standing outside of the club drinking beer from nearby convenience stores. Tsou expressed concerns about the viability of paying bands to play when the fans aren’t ordering drinks.
“We want to support the bands,” she said. “Especially to be able to pay extra for out-of-town bands to help cover their transportation costs or be able to pay for bigger name acts.” Starting next month, the cover charge will be NT$300, of which patrons can use NT$200 to purchase food or drink, and the remaining NT$100 goes straight to the band.
High Tide celebrates Bob Marley’s birthday tonight from 10pm at Roxy Roots, located at 90 Songren Rd, Taipei City (台北市松仁路90號). Admission is free.
The party continues tomorrow in Taichung from 10pm at The Light Lounge, 85 Huamei W St Sec 1, Taichung City (台中市華美西街一段85號). Admission is NT$300, which includes one drink.
Last month historian Stephen Wertheim of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace published an opinion piece in the New York Times with suggestions for an “America First” foreign policy for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Of course China and Taiwan received a mention. “Under presidents Trump and Biden,” Wertheim contends, “the world’s top two powers have descended into open rivalry, with tensions over Taiwan coming to the fore.” After complaining that Washington is militarizing the Taiwan issue, he argues that “In truth, Beijing has long proved willing to tolerate the island’s self-rule so long as Taiwan does not declare independence
Big changes are afoot in global politics, which that are having a big impact on the global order, look set to continue and have the potential to completely reshape it. In my previous column we examined the three macro megatrends impacting the entire planet: Technology, demographics and climate. Below are international trends that are social, political, geopolitical and economic. While there will be some impact on Taiwan from all four, it is likely the first two will be minor, but the second two will likely change the course of Taiwan’s history. The re-election of Donald Trump as president of the US
Nov. 25 to Dec. 1 The Dutch had a choice: join the indigenous Siraya of Sinkan Village (in today’s Tainan) on a headhunting mission or risk losing them as believers. Missionaries George Candidus and Robert Junius relayed their request to the Dutch governor, emphasizing that if they aided the Sinkan, the news would spread and more local inhabitants would be willing to embrace Christianity. Led by Nicolaes Couckebacker, chief factor of the trading post in Formosa, the party set out in December 1630 south toward the Makatao village of Tampsui (by today’s Gaoping River in Pingtung County), whose warriors had taken the
The Mountains to Sea National Greenway (山海圳國家綠道) draws its name from the idea that each hiker starting at the summit of Jade Mountain (玉山) and following the trail to the coast is like a single raindrop. Together, many raindrops form life and prosperity-bringing waterways. Replicating a raindrop’s journey holds poetic beauty, but all hikers know that climbing is infinitely more appealing, and so this installment picks up where the last one left off — heading inland and uphill along the 49.8-kilometer Canal Trail (大圳之路) — second of the Greenway’s four sections. A detailed map of the trail can be found
RSS