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🎶 Bob Marley – How Reggae Changed the World 🎶
Bob Marley’s songs are the starting point, but this is much more than a tribute concert. Award-winning artist Duane Forrest blends Marley’s music with personal storytelling in a solo performance about **identity, ancestry, belonging, love and the healing power of reggae**.
✨ **What makes it special:** forrest’s show has travelled from Off Broadway to a sold-out Edinburgh Fringe, and its strength comes from the way music and story sit together. He performs soulful renditions of Marley classics while tracing how reggae became a language of unity, resistance and healing far beyond Jamaica.
The personal thread matters just as much. Raised in Toronto by Jamaican parents, Forrest reflects on his own experiences of identity, colourism and cultural disconnection, and on the process of finding a stronger sense of belonging through Marley’s message. That gives the songs a context beyond nostalgia. You’re hearing music that millions already know, but also hearing what that music can mean when it becomes a way to reconnect with culture and self.
The event is described as **uplifting, personal, unforgettable and captivating**, and reviews have repeatedly emphasised that Forrest does more than simply perform Marley. One review notes that he “doesn’t just perform Marley. He explains him,” while another describes the work as a layered piece of theatre rather than a showcase or straightforward tribute.
So if you’re coming for the music, expect familiar reggae rhythms and songs with a huge cultural legacy. If you’re coming for theatre and storytelling, there is a strong personal journey underneath them. The combination is what gives the show its shape.
đź“… **Date:** Monday 26 October 2026
đź•’ **Time:** 7:00pm
đź“Ť **Location:** Baycourt Theatre, X Space, 38 Durham Street, Tauranga 3110
đź‘Ą **Age:** All ages
đź’ş **Seating:** Reserved
🎟️ Tickets are listed at **$53.25 for adults and $27.12 for under-25s**, with booking and service fees potentially applying. The event is sponsored by GERRANDS Flooring and Western Bay of Plenty District Council.
♿ **Accessibility:** Baycourt lists **accessible bathrooms, accessible seating, certified disability assist dogs, mobility parking spaces and wheelchair access**.
✨ Bob Marley – How Reggae Changed the World uses songs people know to open up a wider conversation about where reggae came from, what it carried and why it still connects across generations and borders. 🎶 It’s a night for Marley fans, certainly, but also for anyone interested in the human stories that sit behind music with a global reach.
Bob Marley’s songs are the starting point, but this is much more than a tribute concert. Award-winning artist Duane Forrest blends Marley’s music with personal storytelling in a solo performance about **identity, ancestry, belonging, love and the healing power of reggae**.
✨ **What makes it special:** forrest’s show has travelled from Off Broadway to a sold-out Edinburgh Fringe, and its strength comes from the way music and story sit together. He performs soulful renditions of Marley classics while tracing how reggae became a language of unity, resistance and healing far beyond Jamaica.
The personal thread matters just as much. Raised in Toronto by Jamaican parents, Forrest reflects on his own experiences of identity, colourism and cultural disconnection, and on the process of finding a stronger sense of belonging through Marley’s message. That gives the songs a context beyond nostalgia. You’re hearing music that millions already know, but also hearing what that music can mean when it becomes a way to reconnect with culture and self.
The event is described as **uplifting, personal, unforgettable and captivating**, and reviews have repeatedly emphasised that Forrest does more than simply perform Marley. One review notes that he “doesn’t just perform Marley. He explains him,” while another describes the work as a layered piece of theatre rather than a showcase or straightforward tribute.
So if you’re coming for the music, expect familiar reggae rhythms and songs with a huge cultural legacy. If you’re coming for theatre and storytelling, there is a strong personal journey underneath them. The combination is what gives the show its shape.
đź“… **Date:** Monday 26 October 2026
đź•’ **Time:** 7:00pm
đź“Ť **Location:** Baycourt Theatre, X Space, 38 Durham Street, Tauranga 3110
đź‘Ą **Age:** All ages
đź’ş **Seating:** Reserved
🎟️ Tickets are listed at **$53.25 for adults and $27.12 for under-25s**, with booking and service fees potentially applying. The event is sponsored by GERRANDS Flooring and Western Bay of Plenty District Council.
♿ **Accessibility:** Baycourt lists **accessible bathrooms, accessible seating, certified disability assist dogs, mobility parking spaces and wheelchair access**.
✨ Bob Marley – How Reggae Changed the World uses songs people know to open up a wider conversation about where reggae came from, what it carried and why it still connects across generations and borders. 🎶 It’s a night for Marley fans, certainly, but also for anyone interested in the human stories that sit behind music with a global reach.
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