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Raggamuffin 2010 - Saturday January 23 @ Rotorua International Stadium

Monday 19 October 2009, 8:06AM

By Publicity +

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ROTORUA

Yes it's happening again! For the third consecutive year, Raggamuffin is set
to take summer stages by storm, so free your dreadlocks and release your
Rasta spirit because New Zealand's biggest reggae music festival is about to
blaze its way to Rotorua this January 23rd.

Featuring an all-star line-up of ex-Fugees front man WYCLEF JEAN, son of Bob
Marley JULIAN MARLEY, SHAGGY, SEAN KINGSTON plus legends STEEL PULSE and SLY
& ROBBIE, fans will be feeling more than alright as they soak up over ten
hours funk, dub, hip-hop, soul and of course reggae riddims!

Headlining Ragamuffin 2010 is WYCLEF JEAN the Grammy winning artist who has
sold over 30 million records and toured the world, with Lauryn Hill and The
Fugees. As a solo artist he will be performing songs from his album, The
Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant which features everyone from Lil Wayne,
Akon, Sizzla, to Serj Tankian, Norah Jones and Paul Simon (for the single
Fast Car, whose video was made with the assistance of video game Burnout
Paradise and whose remix features NZ's very own Scribe!).

Since his success with Shakira on Hips Don't Lie Wyclef has embarked on a
new chapter in his ever-evolving career. His talents as a producer and
collaborator have led to a myriad of successful projects including
recordings with Bono (New Day), writing and producing Carlo Santana's
Supernatural, which won a Grammy for Album of the Year, and Whitney
Houston's My Love Is Your Love. His soon to be released album Music Theory
promises to be the best yet and his live performance is a not to be missed
opportunity.

"This year's Raggamuffin is going to be bigger than ever and we are excited
that an artist the calibre of Wyclef is going to be joining the line-up.
Festival goers are going to be in for something special!" said Raggamuffin
promoter Andrew McManus.

The ska classic Oh Carolina introduced SHAGGY to the world and the steady
dub rhythm of the platinum selling Boombastic and hits like It Wasn't Me and
Angel from his Hotshot album, consolidated Shaggy as one of Jamaica's finest
musical exports - and that's saying something!
With 20 million album sales, 11 worldwide Top Ten singles, and a Grammy
award for the Best Reggae Album, Shaggy celebrates his culture and being an
ambassador for reggae music has always been the driving force in the heart
of Jamaica's only living Diamond-plus selling artist - RESPECT!

UK Grammy Award winning reggae group STEEL PULSE have always remained close
to their roots and their commitment to fight injustice and promote positive
messages through spiritually uplifting music. Taking causes to heart, they
filed a million dollar lawsuit against New York's Taxi & Limousine
Commission when their cabbies refused to pick up blacks and Rastafarians. To
express their views, they released a single, Taxi Driver, from their 1991
Grammy-nominated Victims album and their State of Emergency album
contributed Can't Stand It to Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing movie
soundtrack. In 1993, at the request of the Clinton Administration, Steel
Pulse became the first reggae band ever to perform during the inaugural
festivities at The White House.

Following the April 2009 release of his album Awake, which features Marley
brothers Stephen and Damian, JULIAN MARLEY will be representing the music
and message of the Marley family legacy. His soulful vocals, hypnotic beats
and the roots-reggae sound with street energy hip-hop deliver a smooth
combination that is very much his own.

On their first Raggamuffin tour SLY & ROBBIE, the modern masters of rhythm,
will bring their own brand of reggae to the bill. The pair have contributed
their distinctive rhythms to an estimated 200,000 recorded tracks, most of
them Jamaican reggae. Early in their career they played together on Jimmy
Cliff's Follow My Mind, Peter Tosh's Legalize It and a series of recordings
by the group Black Uhuru amongst others. The Taxi label was founded by Sly
in the late 70s and an early release, Gregory Isaacs's Soon Forward, topped
Jamaican charts and solidified the duo's reputation as hit-makers. The acts
they have since produced range from the unorthodox diva Grace Jones (Warm
Leatherette and Nightclubbing albums), to the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan,
Herbie Hancock, Joan Armatrading and more recently Madonna, Britney Spears
and Paul McCartney!

International platinum selling artist SEAN KINGSTON will get the crowd
grooving to his vibrant fusion of pop, doo-wop and reggae. Kingston's
Beautiful Girls single made history as one of the fastest ascents to number
one of the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The collection of pop-fueled songs that
make up the newly released Tomorrow album will be sure to get the crowd
moving.

Six hot International acts and a still to be announced local line-up. Don't
miss Raggamuffin 2010. As they say in Jamaica, it's going to be irie!

Raggamuffin 2010 - Saturday January 23 @ Rotorua International Stadium
TICKETS ON SALE - 9am WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 28 from Ticketmaster -
www.ticketmaster.co.nz ph 0800-111-999

For show details go to: www.raggamuffin.co.nz, www.ampresents.com;
www.wyclefjean.com / www.steelpulse.com / www.officialslyandrobbie.com /
www.seankingston.com / www.reggaeville.com