@AndyShore Taking the stage fashionably late, the band got things rolling. Nas took the stage first, spitting rhymes and hyping up the eager Rothbury crowd. The band was tight, and Nas lived up to his reputation. He ran through a couple of songs, before introducing Damian Marley to the stage.

Damian danced around the stage, with his dreads nearly touching the floor. He has an interesting combination of reggae and hip hop in his music, that translates well to his live show. He sang when he needed to and rapped alongside Nas at other times. Since the duo had taken the stage late, we had to head over to Soulive before too long. As we wandered off, they were going into “One Love.”

@ZackTeibloom Damian Marley held his title as the Marley with the best songs and best dreads Friday at Rothbury. I wouldn’t go so far as Andy to say his dreads nearly touched the ground, but they were swinging closer and closer his knees as he bopped around.

The youngest Marley son pulled heavily from his 2005 album, Welcome to Jamrock. Nas guests on the album, but the two songs that stood out from Marley’s Rothbury performance were without him. The force of title track “Welcome to Jamrock” hyped up the crowd, but nothing tops Hey Girl” with memorably hilarious lyrics like:

“She said, “Junior you’re a genius
You think with your mind and not your penis
Your gang of Jamaican Al Pacinos
Drinking Blue Mountain cappuccinos.”

Keeping up with a whole set on iClips is hard to focus on unless you love the band, but I was locked in for the whole set. 8.9/10. Thanks to iClips for the live broadcast. Want more reggae? Check back Sunday at 3:45/2:45 p.m. central.

Rothbury Full Coverage