Mark Stewart

The Irie Ones plays reggae music. We can also cater parties with authentic Caribbean cuisine! Reggae music is widely known as the music of Bob Marley, but in reality, it’s roots started years before Bob. Jamaican music in the 50s and 60s, was mainly American R&B and was copied by many singers there, but soon a distinctive rhythm emerged. Known as ska, a faster tempo with an off beat, it became popular throughout Jamaica and to England where there’s a large Jamaican immigrant population. Ska slowed down, and Rocksteady took center stage. Reggae came along, bringing sharper rhythms and a one drop drumbeat, and artists like Bob Marley, Toots and
the Maytalls and Jimmy Cliff and others brought the music to America in the mid 70s.
Reggae is sometimes intertwined with Rastafari, a homegrown spiritual movement inspired by the teachings of Marcus Garvey and Haile Sellasie, as many of the early reggae artists were also Rastafarians. The lyrics are often about the struggle for justice and a call for unity. As a result, reggae was and still is, forbidden by some fearful governments. Lucky Dube, South Africa’s most famous reggae singer, had to smuggle records to listen to, and many reggae artists, particularly the Jamaican Rastas were beaten and jailed for their beliefs. China is just now allowing Bob Marleys Legend album to be sold there! Reggae music emphasizes a positive lifestyle as well as a call for unity of all people.

No longer just a Jamaican music, reggae is performed by people of many different cultures. The Irie Ones are an example of its reach. Three of its members are native Jamaicans , two from the eastern Carribean, two from the US and one African born.

Garvey Lee, hails from Montserrat and is the founder, drummer and singer in the band. Errol Phillips grew up in Jamaica with many of the early reggae artists. He is lead singer along with fellow Jamaican, Horatio Edwards. Talabi, the band’s only female was born in Tobago, Ian Henry, the other native Jamaican plays keyboards and Mark Stewart, who picked up reggae in the 70s while living on a hippie commune in NY, plays the guitar. While the band has had more than eight bassists in its history, Edward Olatunde has been with the band for a couple years, learning reggae growing up in Nigeria. Don Pablo, an attorney by day, serves as the band’s emcee and rapper. The Irie Ones have many original songs and play a variety of covers, from Bob Marley to Lionel Ritchie and even Willie Nelson. The Irie Ones are a regular at the city’s Free Friday series, and New year’s celebrations. Gainesville’s own homegrown Reggae band!