Peter Tosh ADD

Peter Tosh @ Reggaeville Yearbook 2024

01/29/2025 by Gardy Stein

Happy 2025 to you, beautiful people! And Happy 80th Birthday to… no, we don’t mean Bob Marley’s anniversary (yet), but give a big shout-out to the late Peter Tosh. Born October 19th 1944, he would have turned 80 last year, and as you are reading the brand new Reggaeville Yearbook, it is 2024 we are looking back on, paying homage to this amazing artist with the iconic cover of his album Legalize It, shot by Lee Jaffe.

Much has happened in the last twelve months, and there are issues that definitely have to be talked about: climate change, armed conflicts, right-wing criminals grabbing power… we are living in serious times! To counteract the bad news and foreground some of the positivity that also happened, our retrospective will focus on the things that give us hope, of which (reggae) music is certainly one of the most important ones. And what a musical year it was!

Reggae went Broadway with the Bob Marley: One Love movie, enthusing spectators around the world; Buju Banton embarked on his record breaking Arena Tour in the US; and dancehall “World Boss” Vybz Kartel celebrated his comeback with a huge event on December 31st. Our tribute to the aforementioned Peter Tosh includes an interview with his daughter Niambe Tosh, statements from his companions and contemporaries, as well as some remarkable memorabilia from collector Jack Low and our Reggaeville archive. 

A special highlight for Peter, who always fought for the legalisation of the herb, would have been the spontaneous Legalisation Party during our Reggaeville Easter Special on April 1st, which united Eek-A-Mouse, Yaksta, Anthony B and Dub FX on stage in Hamburg – it sure was one for us! Speaking of stages: thanks to the efforts of artists, organisers and staff, we were able to spend countless days and nights celebrating live reggae music at concerts and festivals, many of which you’ll find wrapped up in (photo) reports. 

As always, you can browse 2024 month by month, discover artists’ highlights and find out about some of our favourite albums captured in reviews.

The Album of The Year poll has again asked 60 knowledgeable music experts to cast their vote, and from the ever growing wealth of releases, a winner was chosen: Mortimer with the album From Within. Congratulations! Oh yes, and then there was this one song by YG Marley that accompanied us through last year, providing the perfect advice to end this editorial with: enjoy reading, and never forget to Praise Jah In The Moonlight!

Make yourself comfortable, grab a hot drink and dive into what will become golden memories in the future. Thank you all for your continued support, and a special welcome to the 400k new social media followers that swelled our ranks in 2024! 

READ & DOWNLOAD THE YEARBOOK 2024 HERE