Devised by the musician Israel Suárez ‘El Piraña’, the project kicks off in Benicàssim on August 22 with a brand new show on the Main Stage that will bring together Josemi Carmona, Álex Conde, Alana Sinkey, Noemí Humanes, Josue Ronkío and Juan Carmona Jr, and Kiki Morente as a special guest.

The musical fusion of Rototom Sunsplash goes one step further. Along with the usual mix of black roots rhythms and the remarkable weight of Afrobeats surrounding reggae as the main thematic axis, this edition explores the symbiosis of Jamaican music with the sound universe of cante jondo. It will do so with a unique and unprecedented show in the history of Europe’s leading reggae event: ‘The Flamenco World Salutes Bob Marley’, which will have its world premiere on the Main Stage on August 22, on the closing day of the festival.

Devised by the musician Israel Suárez ‘El Piraña’, one of the most renowned cajoneros in the world of cante jondo, after a trip to Jamaica “who opened the doors for me to get closer to Bob Marley’s music than I had ever imagined“, the project ‘The Flamenco World Salutes Bob Marley’ will unite over the Main Stage to a large artistic lineup that opens the guitarist Josemi Carmona, ex-member of the flamenco fusion band Ketama; and the eclectic flamenco-jazz pianist Álex Conde, together with the multidisciplinary Guinean singer Alana Sinkey; the singer Noemí Humanes, who has toured with the Spanish National Ballet, among others; Josue Ronkío on bass and Juan Carmona Jr, percussionist and singer descendant of the Habichuela saga. A staging that completes the special collaboration of the young singer from Granada Kiki Morente, son of Enrique Morente and that in his first two studio albums reflects his ability to mix the classic with the contemporary and experiment with a more electronic sound.

The international reggae festival will be the epicenter of this initiatory journey, with the challenge of “singing flamenco in the language of Marley. “Like reggae, flamenco is much more than music, it is a way of life. Since that trip to Jamaica, it has been almost an obsession to find the way to fuse music and cultures, essential in a project such as the one that will be premiered at Rototom Sunsplash.“explains its creator, Israel Suárez. “I took on this challenge as my own, a challenge that entailed another implicit challenge: singing flamenco in English is unprecedented,” he says.

With this flamenco-reggae encounter, the Rototom Sunsplash gives the final touches to a musical parade already complete. A sound proposal that has just incorporated for this final stretch other big names in the international reggae scene, with the legendary exponent of Jamaican roots reggae Burning Spear in the lead; the also Jamaican The Pioneers, rocksteady and ska referents; the London-based Hollie Cook and the also British and solidly established band The Cimarons; o Miss Bolivia. The singer and producer from Buenos Aires, Argentina, is a tangible example of the musical openness preached by the contest, with her explosive mixes of reggae, cumbia, hip hop and dance. The Argentine-Colombian cumbia, ska and punk band Che Sudaka is also an opening act.

Names that expand the already confirmed artistic parade, with the mythical reggae band from Birmingham, Spain. UB40, the recent Grammy award winner Kabaka Pyramid and Protoje & The Indiggnation representing the younger generation of Jamaican music; Barrington Levy; Capleton or Junior Marvin, guitarist of Bob Marley’s Wailers; Steel Pulse (UK); L’Entourloop and Biga Ranx from France; the Argentine rapper Trueno; the Ivorian Tiken Jah Fakoly or the queen of afrobeats, the Nigerian singer Yemi Alade.

The Valencian weight of the Rototom Sunsplash line-up is also more than remarkable, with the phenomenon Zoo and La Fúmiga on the Main Stage or with Nativa, Maluks and the ska band La Fricativa Sonora (with Zoo’s bass player on the front) roaring on the Lion Stage. The state scene is also strong with Lia Kali, Las Ninyas del Corro and Boom Boom Fighters from Catalonia; or with Juantxo Skalari & La Rude Band from Navarre.

With these latest additions, the international reggae festival weaves a lineup with more than ten hours of music daily and 142 concerts on its six stages, which will bring the public in the seven days of celebration, from 16 to 22 August 2023 in Benicàssim.