SPILL LIVE REVIEW: THE WAILERS w/ OMEGA MIGHTY, KID RASTA & THE PEACEMAKERS @ THE PHOENIX CONCERT THEATRE, TORONTO

THE WAILERS w/ OMEGA MIGHTY, KID RASTA & THE PEACEMAKERS

@ THE PHOENIX CONCERT THEATRE, TORONTO

MAY 23, 2023

Having passed away in 1981, the music of Bob Marley continues to be revered through different live outlets, one of which was the continuation of his backing band, The Wailers through bassist Aston Barrett, who played with Marley from 1970 to 1981. More recently, with an ever-revolving lineup, Barrett has passed The Wailers mantle down to his son, drummer Aston Barrett Jr., to lead the band. Despite having no original members on stage, or even anyone who had performed alongside Marley and the original The Wailers, The Wailers, along with local openers Kid Rasta & The Peacemakers and Omega Mighty, took the stage at Toronto’s Phoenix Concert Theatre for an unforgettable celebration of Marley and his music.

Opening the show was a four-piece reggae band, Kid Rasta & The Peacemakers. The Toronto group performed a brief, but fun set. With music that was inspired by traditional reggae with the occasional hint of ska, Kid Rasta & The Peacemakers used their time to full effect, as seen by the dancing among the growing audience. A special note must be said about their singer, Kid Rasta, is that his voice sounds like flipping through a crate of vintage reggae records, a rare find in today’s musical climate where ska singers tend to lean more towards punk tones.

Omega Mighty, a Toronto-based R&B and dancehall singer, took the stage next. Despite only being backed by a DJ, her performance never felt musically or visually sparse. Singing over bass heavy beats, Omega Mighty’s music was firmly rooted in Jamaican dancehall, with a modern R&B styling, along with sprinklings of hip-hop. The combination, along with her control over the audience, gave off serious Rhianna vibes, making her performance that much more special.

Taking the stage to a much fuller audience was The Wailers, a seven-piece band led by Barrett Jr. on the drums, Mitchell Brunings on lead vocals, Wendel “Junior Jazz” Ferraro on guitar and vocals, Owen “Dreadie” Reid on bass, Andres “Ipez” Lopez on keyboards, and Alecia Marie and Teena “Tamara” Barnes on backing vocals. As a collective, they were tight, so much so that you’d assume they’d been performing together for decades. It was easy to forget that no one on the crowded stage was in fact an original Wailer. For the sake of the night, this did not matter. Brunings did a phenomenal job filling the impossibly large shoes of Marley with a stunning vocal delivery and a charming presence while Ferraro ebbed and flowed from the sublime to the overt effortlessly on the guitar. Furthermore, the addition of Marie and Barnes allowed for the lush and abundant vocal harmonies to shine through this all-star band.

Aside from the inclusions of “One World, One Prayer” off their 2020 album One World, and a cover of Gloria Estefan’s “Destiny”, their set included some of the greatest hits to come from Marley and The Wailers, including “Is This Love”, “Stir It Up”, “Get Up, Stand Up”, “Three Little Birds” and the closing “Could You Be Love”. The inclusion of deeper cuts, such as “Crazy Baldhead”, “Rat Race”, and “Rebel Music (3 O’Clock Roadblock)” further enhanced their performance. Additional highlights included “I Shot The Sheriff”, “No Woman, No Cry”, “Jamming”, and an intimate “Redemption Song”.

The legacy and music of Marley remains relevant, powerful, joyous, and spiritually invigorating, despite his passing over four decades ago. Despite no original Wailers on stage, their Toronto performance was vital, demonstrating just how timeless the words, music, and ethos of Marley is. Their performance was a rapturous affair, one which you couldn’t help but get swept into, ultimately making The Wailers a truly marvelous live act.

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