First State reggae music fans will be jamming at Tubman Garrett Park on Wilmington's Riverfront next Saturday, July 26, as they celebrate the legacy of Bob Marley.
The music legend lived in Delaware's largest city for several years and is the inspiration for the annual Peoples' Festival for Peace, Tribute to Bob Marley, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
Marley’s first American home was in Wilmington. The future reggae legend lived off and on for several years on Tatnall Street so he could be closer to his mother, Cedella Booker, who had left Jamaica in the late sixties, remarried, and settled in the First State.
Marley bought the house next door in 1969, bringing along his wife Rita and their young children. Before the rest of the word knew him, Marley was a part of his Wilmington community. His kids went to the school in the city and he worked for a time as a lab assistant at Dupont. He later worked as a forklift operator at the Chrysler plant in Newark, a gig that would inspire him to write his song “Night Shift."
When he wasn’t on the job, Bob Marley was working on his true life’s work, the songs that would make him one of the world’s most beloved musical figures. Marley went on to sell millions of records and became an international reggae icon but his friends, like former neighbor Genny Pitts, says you’d never know that.
“That was the thing about Bob; you’d never know he was a superstar. He was always so humble,” said Pitts, who is The Peoples’ Festival co-founder.
During Marley’s time in Wilmington, his wife Rita stumbled upon a small African import store on Market Street owned by Genny’s future husband Ibis Pitts. It wasn’t long before Rita brought Bob to the shop and he and Ibis soon became best friends.
Genny Pitts says the reggae legend’s household on Tatnall Street was a lively one.
“Whenever Bob was around, sometime throughout the day you were going to hear music. You know-there was going to be a jam session somewhere nearby, so that happened quite a bit at the Marley house,” said Pitts.
Ibis Pitts would occasionally join Bob Marley at gigs in New York City and Philadelphia and traveled to Jamaica with him but eventually Marley’s rising career kept him on the road and Ibis Pitts relocated to California where he met his future bride.
Genny Pitts met Bob Marley for the first time at the Roxy on Sunset Strip when she and Ibis attended the reggae legend’s “Natty Dread” tour. She calls it a life changing experience.
“I’ll never forget feeling that Rastaman vibration,” said Pitts.
Soon after, the Pitts moved back to Wilmington and developed a close relationship with Marley’s mother Cedella Booker, who everyone called Momma B. The Pitts continued their close friendship with the Marley family long after the legend died of cancer in May of 1981.
When Momma B, who moved to Miami in 1994, came back north for a visit, the Pitts threw her a party and she expressed to them a desire to see them host a tribute concert to her son in the city of Wilmington. Soon after, The People's Festival was born.
The first was held in 1995 at Frawley Stadium and featured over 22 bands.
Pitts says the festival's 20 year run since is just one indication that Marley’s impact remains significant.
“Mention Bob’s name, I don’t care where you are in the world and you’re going to get a smile from people and you’re going to get a warm remark," said Pitts. "Here in Wilmington, at any given moment, somebody will have a memory.”
Pitts and other organizers say the festival is not only a tribute to Marley's legacy, but also an opportunity to promote cultural diversity through music and art.
The concert will feature live music on two stages and includes ten time Grammy nominees, Third World.
The daylong event July 26 will also feature a children’s village, a healing garden, international food court and art and crafts from around the world. It begins at noon and runs until 8 pm.
This piece is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.