The 9 Mile Music Festival, also written as the Nine Mile Music Festival and known as the Bob Marley Festival, Marley Fest and Caribbean Festival, is an annual music event held every year since 1993 in Miami, Florida. It was started by Cedella Marley Booker to keep alive her son Bob Marley’s message of peace, love and unity. The festival also serves as a food drive, collecting canned goods from attendees as a part of the admission to the event. These donations help feed the needy in the Miami area through various local charities.
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The festival
The one-day music festival has taken place every year since 1993. The festival has a focus on reggae, but also incorporates other music genres like dance, hip hop, rock and R&B.
Bob Marley’s children Ziggy Marley, Stephen Marley, Julian Marley, Ky-mani Marley and Damian Marley have performed at many of the editions. Other performers have included Carlos Santana, Lauryn Hill, Hootie & the Blowfish, Erykah Badu, Burning Spear, Buju Banton, Sizzla Kalonji, Capleton, Pitbull, 2 Chainz, Future, T.I., Tarrus Riley, Konshens, Machel Montano, Diana King, SOJA, Slightly Stoopid, Thievery Corporation, Sean Paul, Shaggy, Mavado, DMX, India Arie, Inner Circle and Major Lazer.
History
Conceived and created in 1993 by Cedella Marley Booker, the mother of Jamaican reggae singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist Bob Marley, the festival has been held every year since. The festival is organized by 9 Mile Entertainment, a business run by Cedella Marley Booker’s son Richard Booker.
The spirit of the festival is that by working together people can make big differences in helping their communities. As part of the entrance fee, attendees bring four canned goods on the day of the event – or make a financial donation as part of the admission to the event. The donations are collected and distributed to charities to help feed the needy in the Miami area.
The festival became known early on as the Marley Fest because of its founder and the inspiration drawn from her late son. Another reason is that Bob Marley’s sons have played at many editions.
The festival has gone through a series of name changes. These include the Bob Marley Festival, Marley Fest and The Caribbean Festival.
In 2011, the festival was rebranded as the 9 Mile Music Festival. The name derives from Nine Mile, a village in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica where Bob Marley was born, began his musical career and found inspiration for many of his songs. Nine Mile is home to the Bob Marley Mausoleum, which showcases many of his awards, guitars and photographs. It has become a tourist attraction in Jamaica.
Charity
The festival collects four canned goods or financial donations from every attendee as part of the ticket price. It collected more than two million canned goods in its first 22 years.