Wailers to bring reggae, ideas of change

Get ready to chill.

The steady beats of the Jamaican islands will sound the roots of reggae and promote humanitarian activism Thursday at The Bluebird Nightclub.

The Wailers will play every song from their 1977 album “Exodus,” which they recorded with Bob Marley. The Wailers are playing in Bloomington as part of their world Exodus Tour, which will run until the end of March.

In 1999, Time Magazine named “Exodus” Album of the Century.

Dave Kubiak, owner of The Bluebird, said he likes to put on all types of shows, including bluegrass, hip-hop and rock, and The Wailers will fit into the classic reggae category.

The Wailers originally formed in 1969 with Bob Marley and four other members, including Aston “Family Man” Barrett, who taught Marley how to play the guitar and serves as the current musical director of the group.

“The reggae music is the international voice of the people,” Barrett said. “It’s universal. It can be understood by everyone and carries a message of roots, culture and reality.”

Stephen Stuempfle, executive director for the Society for Ethnomusicology, said The Wailers were the leading force in the globalization of Jamaican reggae music. 

“I think one of the things that is interesting is that reggae started off as a local Jamaican music, and reggae began a global art form,” Stuempfle said. “Bob Marley and The Wailers raised important issues of inequality in the world, but they also became a political force for change.”

Jasper Leach, assistant publicist for the band, said it was important for The Wailers to revive the “Exodus” album for their current tour.

“It was one of the most perennially loved works associated with The Wailers,” Leach said. “They see the whole idea of the exodus movement of the people, and they feel very strongly about reggae music and what they do.”

The group’s current members include Barrett on bass, Chico Chin on trumpet, Chizzy “Audley” Chisholm on guitar, Everald Gayle on trombone, Keith Sterling on keyboards, Anthony Watson on drums and Brady Walters and Cegee Victory on backing vocals.

The Wailers have sold more than 250 million records worldwide, and Spin Magazine named Bob Marley and The Wailers No. 4 in the “50 Greatest Bands of All Time” in 2002. 

The Wailers continue to spread awareness of world issues, and the group’s charity, I Went Hungry, sets aside some funds from the band’s profits for the World Food Program, according to a Gorgeous PR Inc. press release. The program feeds thousands of children around the globe, Leach said.

“I think they’ve provided enough money to feed some 100,000 people,” Leach said. “Some people have already caught on to the idea. It’s a very good cause and humanitarian effort.”

Versa Manos, publicist for The Wailers, said she has been working with the band a very long time and called her experience “fantastic.”

“Passion is a very important part of their world,” she said. “The Wailers are keeping Bob Marley’s message alive.”

Barrett said Marley’s spirit is alive in the band’s music.

“We all are ordinary people who do extraordinary work and spread the message for our mission.”