Musicians come together for seventh annual show at Clark County Amphitheater


Frederic Apcar Productions presents the seventh annual Reggae in the Desert concert with a collection of legendary musical acts including Barrington Levy, Judy Mowatt, Wailing Souls, The Mighty Diamonds, Michael Black and the Jah Guide Band and DJ Ramma. The concert takes place June 14 at the Clark County Government Center Amphitheater, 500 S. Grand Central Parkway. Doors open at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 the day of the show and $28 for a ticket and t-shirt package. Tickets will be available at www.ticketmaster.com on Friday, April 11.


Blankets for lawn seating are permitted as well as personal unopened bottles of water. Vendors in the Caribbean Islands Vendor Village will have Reggae-style items, exhibits, food and beverages as well as other fare. Domestic and imported beers will be available. There will be no re-entry, and there is no ATM on site.


Event sponsors include Clark County Parks & Recreation, Miller Chill, United Car Dealerships, CW Las Vegas, My LV TV, Area 107.9, Hot 97.5, Point 97.1, City Life and the Las Vegas Review-Journal.


Tickets can be purchased online at www.reggaeinthedesert.com or at www.ticketmaster.com. Additional information can be found at www.accessclarkcounty.com or by calling (702) 455-8200.


Barrington Levy is called reggae's "mellow canary," because of his strong vocals. At 14, he performed in dance halls with Mighty Multitude, a band he formed with his cousin. He began his professional recording career 30 years ago with his debut track "My Black Girl" with his band. His first foreign release to the United States and England was "A Ya We Deh" followed by "Collie Weed," which became a major hit. After the release of his first album in 1979, he followed with Englishman on Greensleeves, which had three hit singles and solidified him as a reggae star of the early ‘80s. His momentum continued as he revamped older works, putting his mark on cover tunes. In 1996, the song "Living Dangerously" proved to be a big single and spawned an album by the same name in 1998. The album featured tracks with Snoop Dogg, Bounty Killer, Lady G, Jigsy King and Terror Fabulous. Throughout his career, he's shared the stage with Shaggy, Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder, Snoop Dogg and U2. Levy continues to record and tour extensively throughout North America, Europe and Asia and is Jamaica's number one headliner. He also is working on a new album, It's About Time, due out later this year.


In 1985, Judy Mowatt became the first female singer to be nominated for a Grammy award in the reggae category for Working Wonders. Since then, the singer/songwriter has composed songs with meaningful lyrics concerning women, spiritual inspiration and African liberation. She scored her first American pop hit with "Love Is Overdue." Born to a poor family in Jamaica more than 45 years ago, Mowatt launched her career in the early 1975 when she teamed with Rita Marley and Marcia Griffiths to form the I-Three, Bob Marley's background vocalists, of which she remained until his death in 1981. During that time, Mowatt released her first solo album Black Woman in 1977, becoming the first female reggae artist to produce her own album. In the late ‘90s, she converted to Christianity, which led her to release gospel albums. Her second gospel album, Something Old, Something New, was released in 2002.


The Wailing Souls consisting of Lloyd "Bread" McDonald and Winston "Pipe" Mathews has been releasing albums since 1976 and has received eight Grammy nominations. Like many Jamaican singers of this era, the band is heavily influenced by Motown. The veteran reggae duo recently released the self-produced Souvenir from Jamaica. The band also released Most Wanted: Classic Cuts in 2007, featuring some of the band's memorable songs such as "Jah Give Us Life (Don't Feel No Way)" and "See Baba Joe."


The Mighty Diamonds formed in 1969 in Kingston, Jamaica and quickly became known as the Jamaican band with the harmonies of Motown. The band's first album, Right Time has become a classic. The Diamonds' song "Pass the Kouchie" became an international hit when it was covered by Musical Youth in the ‘80s and was released at "Pass the Dutchie." Donald "Tabby" Shaw, Fitzroy "Bunny" Simpson and Lloyd "Judge" Ferguson, who make up The Mighty Diamonds, have produced more than 40 records together.


Michael Black began singing for people in his hometown of Lucca, Jamaica when he was 10 years old. At 17, he moved to Kingston to pursue his professional career. He was introduced to the Solid Foundation Band in 1973, and for four years traveled throughout Jamaica, the Caribbean, Canada and England with the band. He has performed with Stevie Wonder as well as some of reggae's biggest artists including Bob Marley, Gregory Isaacs and Dennis Brown. In 1982, Black moved to Chicago where he performed and helped young artists get their start. He then moved to Las Vegas in 2005 and began performing and playing with the Jah Guide Band, of whom he currently performs with.


DJ Ramma, also know as Suppa Kirk, began emceeing alongside some of Los Angeles' best deejays more than two decades ago. Hailing from Belize, DJ Ramma moved to the Las Vegas valley in 1995 and has played a key role in bringing reggae vibes to the community. He has performed at numerous locations around town and is celebrating his fifth year as a Reggae in the Desert performer.