Monday night saw the last show of yet another successful “Music in the Zoo” summer. The 2018 season brought 28 shows to the Weesner Family Amphitheater at the Minnesota Zoo and fittingly ended the summer with their most “tropical” show Reggae Legend Bob Marley’s eldest son, Ziggy Marley.
Early evening thunderstorms force the set to be pushed back and the scheduled opener to cancel but the rain stood no chance against the power of reggae. The Rebellion Rises tour is named after his 7th solo album that was released in May. Marley managed to pack commentary on social and political issues into his signature approachable sound but is more outspoken about it. Reggae always had a theme of justice and equality but Marley has become very clear about it. Just listen to “See Dem Fake Leaders”. His appeal reaches past the usual reggae fans into pop culture. The audience was proof of that being quite typical “Minnesota Suburban Family” and the show has been sold out for quite a while.
“Rebellion Rises” was also the first song of the show and Marley had fans in his grasp from the get go. The venue is not well suited to dancing but fans were swaying in their seats and a few adventurous (or rebellious) ones ventured onto the concrete steps. Overall the set had a very relaxed vibe and the outdoor setting suited the music perfectly, it was easy to imagine a pair of hippos casually swimming closer in the pond behind the band to check out the show.
Set List: Rebellion Rises / Change Your World / Beach In Hawaii / See Dem Fake Leaders / Word Revolution / Justine / Get Up, Stand-up / True To Myself / We Are The People / One Love / I Will Be Glad / Wild And Free / Love Is My Religion / Look Who’s Dancing
Encore: Your Pain Is Mine / Is That Love / Fly Rasta / Coming In From The Cold / Circle Of Peace
