Ziggy Marley Returns to the Santa Barbara Bowl Sharing His Message of Peace

Ziggy Marley Returns to the
Santa Barbara Bowl Sharing His Message of Peace

The Son of Reggae Legend Bob Marley
Talks About Gaza, the Recent Biopic One Love,
and Spirituality

By Mark M. Alvarado | July 18, 2024

A eucalyptus tree stands firmly behind the stage of the Santa Barbara Bowl. After 35 years of performing numerous times at the popular outdoor venue, Ziggy Marley has built a solid relationship with this eucalyptus tree.

“I remember the first time I played Santa Barbara. I made a connection with that eucalyptus tree. I peeled a leaf and smelled it,” says the 55-year-old son of reggae legend Bob Marley.

“Every time I come to Santa Barbara, I always visit that tree. I love eucalyptus.”

The Marley roots at the Bowl are also firmly planted. Bob Marley first played there in 1976 during the Rastaman Vibration tour. He came back in 1978, on the birthday of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, whom Bob Marley celebrated as the spiritual head of the Rastafarian movement. This show is known as one of Bob Marley’s favorite performances of all time. He returned a year later, recording his most famous Santa Barbara concert for Avalon Attractions, which made Bob synonymous with the Bowl.

Ziggy’s first performance at the Bowl was in 1989. He’s played numerous shows over the years and returns to the venue on Sunday, July 21. Notably, this is 46 years to the date his father performed on Selassie’s birthday in 1978. 

Surely, Ziggy and his relationship with that eucalyptus tree will always be a symbolic reminder of the many Marley concerts Santa Barbara reggae fans have enjoyed for almost 50 years.

The legacy Ziggy shares with his dad is not only rooted at the Bowl, but has also been featured in the recent biopic One Love. The movie focuses on a transitional period in Bob Marley’s life, highlighting how he survived an attempt on his life in 1976 at his Hope Road compound in Jamaica.

Bringing Bob Marley to life on the big screen is no easy task. Even though his worldwide popularity shined in the 1970s, he left us 43 years ago, and since that time, his global popularity and influence has become a cultural sphere that covers the earth.

As the movie’s co-producer, Ziggy worked with Paramount Studios to deliver a film that would ensure his family’s perspective and the integrity of Bob’s consciousness wouldn’t be lost amid the hype behind the Marley name.

“Being a co-producer for the movie was like a fantasy because I’m a movie fan. So, to be behind the scenes and to tell the story from the perspective of those closest to my dad was a joy. We wanted to focus on his emotional journey,” shared Ziggy.

For the record, Ziggy’s journey began in Kingston in 1968, where he was born and well before his dad became a global musical messenger.

“Yes, I was born in our backyard and my father delivered me,” said Ziggy.

As a small boy, Ziggy was impacted by the assassination attempt, the political turmoil in Kingston, and watching his dad bridge peace between two warring political parties during Jamaica’s famous One Love Peace Concert in 1978. 

“The family wanted to use the movie as a vehicle to focus on my dad’s emotional journey, not his accomplishments,” says Ziggy, himself now a father of seven children. “We wanted to show how he felt about the things happening around him. We wanted to highlight the change he went through because so much was happening to him. This was the moment in time when my dad said that his life is not important if life is just about him. This was a very intimate time for my dad.”

Now that the movie has been out for months, Ziggy has had time to reflect on how it has impacted him personally.

“The movie has impacted me in different ways. For me, it was a part of being a good son. But it was bigger than that, because the movie carries the message of one love, which is a powerful statement in a sea of mediocrity. The message stands out in a world where love is lacking. I feel good because I didn’t do this for vanity. It was done with meaning because this is what was important to my father.” 

Equally, for Ziggy, the current conflict in Gaza has significance at home in Los Angeles. Ziggy’s wife, Orly Agai, is an Israeli of Iranian and Jewish descent. Surely the conflict in the Middle East has impacted his view of the situation.

“My current tour is called Circle of Peace. This is how I use my voice. This tour is my expression with every song I sing. This is my motivation going into it because this is how I speak. I speak through music,” said Ziggy.

Ziggy has cultivated a successful career using his voice and the heartbeat of reggae music. As the eldest son of 11 children, he was thrust center stage soon after his dad passed away. At the age of 16, in 1984, he went on tour fronting his dad’s band, The Wailers, to promote Bob’s posthumous album Legend. Soon after, he joined his siblings, The Melody Makers, earning a Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album in 1986. The group won the award two years in a row in 1989 and 1990. In total, Ziggy has been nominated for 15 Grammys and has won eight times throughout his career. 

Now after all these accomplishments and trotting the globe since he was a teenager, does he feel like there is anything else he needs to accomplish?

“You know, I just need to keep on doing what I was born to do. I won’t stop until it’s time to stop. This is a continuous thing through life. I’m just happy that the universe still finds a use for me to create,” he said.

When asked what he inherited most from his father, Ziggy took a long pause and quietly said, “You know, what I get from my father is spirituality. He was the one who introduced me to the journey. Yes, I give thanks for the creation he gave me.”

Ziggy Marley performs at the Santa Barbara Bowl (1122 N. Milpas St.), with special guests Lettuce and Don Carlos, on Sunday, July 21, at 6 p.m. For tickets and additional information, see sbbowl.com.