Peoples' Festival: Diverse music on tap to celebrate Marley's legacy

From authentic roots reggae to ska and jazz, music of the world will take center stage at the 16^th Annual Peoples’ Festival in Wilmington on July 31.

Originally dubbed the Bob Marley fest, the all-day event on the Riverfront offers festival-goers a full day of family fun, from international food and drink, craft vendors from around the world and even a Bamboo Rain Hut and Healing Garden.

But the main draw – as you’d expect with an event bearing Bob Marley’s name – is live music. Here’s a roundup of groups performing next weekend:

Midniteweaves the cultural lyrics of "old school" roots music with modern day experiences to create a unique listening encounter. Roots Reggae - naked and raw - is an apt description for Midnite's musical style, in which they forgo the frills of extensive remixes, overdubbing and other musical refinements. Their vigorous, weighty sound, driven by the punchy bass lines creates a vibe that penetrates straight to the heart.

Taj Weekes is on the one hand deeply serious and intensely passionate about his worldview and on the other hand a gentle and humble man with a quick and easy smile. Driven to inspire conscious thought and provoke discussion through his poignant poetry and lyrics, he appeals to both our intellects and our hearts to take heed, to wake up before it's too late.

The Skatalites are Jamaica’s premier ska band. Officially formed in 1964 after playing in studios together all over Kingston, these musicians came together to perform live shows all over the island. In addition to the live shows, these musicians were the backing band for many legendary vocalists, including Marley, Jimmy Cliff and Toots and The Maytals. They are the roots to the tree whose branches include rocksteady, reggae, rap, dub, punk, two-tone, third wave, ska-jazz, ska-core and raggae.

Xande Cruz has been profoundly influenced by the contrast of the urban and traditional, social injustice, and diversity found in his native Sao Paulo, South America’s largest city. His early inspiration was from listening to the sounds of popular Brazilian music and later hip-hop and electronica in the late ‘80s when he relocated to New York. It was there Cruz began his project, the Batukis, as an Afro-Brazilian percussion group, bringing the rhythms of Brazil to the United States.

Kirk Joseph has earned his seat at the table of New Orleans' greatest musicians and will surely claim his place in music history as perhaps the greatest innovator of his instrument, the sousaphone. For most, a mention of the sousaphone conjures images of marching bands and drum cadences. But in the hands of Joseph, the instrument comes to life in ways that its namesake, John Phillip Sousa, could have hardly imagined.

The Welfare Poets have written poetry/rhymes of protest and inspiration – accompanied by congas – since the 1990s. A band was created from this union with the purpose of using culture as a tool of resistance, and in the summer of 2000, the group released their first independent album "Project Blues." The group plays Hip Hop with a fusion of various styles from the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico, Cuba and Jamaica.

King Chango are New York City’s Latin alternative ambassadors. Led by their irrepressible front man Andrew Blanco, King Chango steps into the ring in tribute to Mexico's wrestling superstar, the masked warrior known as El Santo, with their first album in three years.

The Bullbuckers are a fusion of soul-searing and foot-stomping music – ska like you've never heard it (unless you were living in the Islands in the 60s), soul and a tinge of hip-hop. It's an East Coast sound that has roots – and fans – from around the globe.

Spokey Speakey is a four-piece band out of Wilmington that aims to spread the positive vibe of reggae through its soulful, high-energy performances. Playing a wide-range of reggae classics from the old school to the new, the band strives to satisfy and entertain reggae fans, while enlightening those who may not be as exposed to the genre.

Universal African Dance and Drum Ensemble are sensational, electrifying, exciting, amazing, powerful and educational – a true representation of the beauty of the African culture. And many stateside say the deliver the most spectacular performance of its kind ever seen in America.